I Just Want My Friend Back
by TaeRiNftw
Summary: Eri Sotomayo (OC) is a young cadet following the path of her deceased parents to join the Survey Corps. During her journey, she meets new friends and grows close with Jean Kirstein, Annie Leonhart and Marco Bott. How will Eri's path be? Is love going to get in her way? Will friendships last? [(JeanxOC). Events will follow the Season 1 Anime installment.] Note: I ONLY own my OC.
1. Beginning

_Two years ago, a small portion of Wall Maria was broken and those monster eating titans infiltrated Shinganshina District._

 _Today, I, Eri Sotomayo, have officially joined the military to become a Survey Corps member and defeat those titans!_

 _The reason why is because my parents were members of the Survey Corps._

 _My mother does research on titans along with another member of the Corps._

 _My father was an elite soldier, one of the best._

 _Unfortunately, my parents died from the expedition two years ago, the day Wall Maria broke._

 _I remember seeings them leave, expecting them to come back. But they never came back._

 _I remember standing there, watching the soldiers walking by in disappointment._

 _I remember looking for my parents, but it was my Mom's research assistant who approached me about their passing._

 _Now, I am determined to follow their path. I want to be an elite soldier AND finds information about the titans._

"WHAT'S YOUR NAME CADET!?" Someone shouted.

My thoughts were interrupted by Keith, our instructor for this years recruits.

"I REPEAT, WHAT'S YOUR NAME CADET!?" Keith shouted again.

"MY NAME IS ERI SOTOMAYO! SIR!" I shouted my response.

"WHY ARE YOU HERE!?" He screamed.

"TO ENSURE TITANS DON'T HARM US EVER AGAIN!" I screamed back.

Instructor Keith nodded his head and went to the person to my left.

It was a tall guy with jet black hair and freckles on his cheeks.

"WHAT'S YOUR NAME CADET!?" Keith shouted.

"My name is Marco Bott Sir!" Marco, the freckled face kid, shouted.

"NOT LOUD ENOUGH!" Keith shouted.

"MARCO BOTT SIR!" Marco repeated.

"AND WHY ARE YOU HERE!?" Keith asked.

"TO BECOME A SOLDIER SIR!" Marco answered.

Keith nodded his head and then walked up to the person on my right.

This guy was also tall but with two-toned hair, ash-brown and black. He has a very confident yet prideful look on his face.

Looking at him from my peripheral vision, he seemed quite charming and good looking.

"WHO ARE YOU CADET!?" Keith yelled at the guy.

"MY NAME IS JEAN KIRSTEIN!" Jean yelled.

"AND WHY ARE YOU HERE!?" Keith asked.

"TO JOIN THE MILITARY POLICE SIR!" Jean answered.

 _Oh that's too bad._ I thought to myself. _We won't be in the same group when we graduate._

"Military Police eh?" Keith questioned as he stared at Jean.

Within a couple of seconds, Keith headbutted Jean and Jean fell to the ground.

"YOU CAN'T BE IN THE MILITARY POLICE IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THIS PAIN!" Keith screamed and moved on.

Marco and I stood there in shock.

Keith didn't have a single care in what he did and moved to the front.

 _Wow Instructor Keith is very strict._

* * *

Our time was spent with Keith explaining what it means to be a part of the military and how we'll be stuck with him for the next three years.

He also mentioned that only the top 10 are able to join the Military Police.

I strive to be the top but I don't plan on joining the police. I know what I want to do.

We were dismissed for the day.

The first thing I did was approach Jean.

"Hi there. How's your head?" I asked.

"It's fine." Jean responded.

"You sure? Your forehead is red." I said, pointing at his head.

"I said it's fine! Didn't hurt at all." He scoffed.

"Really? You looked like you were in a lot of pain." Marco said as he approached the two of us.

"Like I said! It was nothing!" Jean yelled.

"Okay. If you say so." I said sarcastically.

With that, Marco and I gave a light laugh.

Jean was glaring at us and we immediately stopped.

The three of us headed to the dining area, picked up our food and sat together at an empty table.

I guess we somehow formed a group from my conversation starter.

"So Eri." Jean spoke as we were eating.

"Yeah?" I looked at him as I took a bite of my weird tasting food.

"Back there, you mentioned that you wanted to ensure titans won't harm us. Does that mean you plan on joining the Survey Corps?" He asked.

I nodded my head and swallowed my food.

"Yup. I do plan on joining the Survey Corps." I said with a smile.

"Why?" Marco asked.

I looked at my new friends.

 _I guess it doesn't hurt to talk about my parents._

"Well, my parents work with the Survey Corps. Unfortunately, they died from an expedition two years ago. I plan on following their path and become an elite soldier." I answered with a wide smile.

I'm always proud of my parents.

"Wow, it's cool you have your life planned out. I don't even know which group I want to join." Marco said.

"Well I know for sure that I'll be top of the recruits and join the Military Police." Jean said with a smirk and crossed his arms.

"Why do you want to join the police?" I asked curiously.

"That's because I want to work for the King. Keep myself away from all of that disaster." Jean said.

My eyes widened in shock.

I'm sort of disappointed to hear that from Jean.

"I see." I said with a slight frown.

"What a coward!" Someone shouted from the table over.

"What!?" Jean shouted and stood up from his seat.

I looked over the tables to see who it was that spoke.

It was from a guy named Eren Jaeger.

Earlier today, Eren mentioned that he wants revenge on the titans. That was his reason for joining the military. I heard rumors that he, along with his two friends Armin Arlet and Mikasa Ackerman, are survivors from Shinganshina District.

I can understand Eren's reason. It's sort of similar to mine.

"I said you're a coward." Eren said towards Jean.

"Why do you think that?" Jean asked, trying not to lose his temper.

"That's because you're just going to take advantage of the soldier status and act like an asshole just like every other police member." Eren said.

"Say that to my face you bastard!" Jean shouted.

Eren and Jean moved away from their seats and stood in front of each other.

They were glaring menacingly at each other, ready to start a fight.

"Hey you two, now's not the time to fight." A guy named Conny Springer approached them.

Mikasa walked up to Eren and pulled his ear.

"Eren. No fighting." She said.

"Yeah. Yeah. Whatever." Eren spat on the ground and walked away with Mikasa.

"That's right. Walk away." Jean said, taunting Eren.

"You're still a coward!" Eren yelled.

"Say that again!" Jean yelled back.

Mikasa pulled Eren's ear once again while I walked up to Jean.

"Stop Jean!" I shouted and pulled his arm.

Jean continued to stand there and glare towards Eren's direction.

"Marco, Eri. Let's go." Jean scoffed and walked away.

Marco and I looked at each other and followed Jean.

We all left the dining area and walked back to the cabins.

"That bastard must think he's cool or something. I don't care if he's a survivor from Shinganshina. He has no right to say that about me." Jean ranted.

"Don't be mad Jean. Maybe Eren misunderstood your reason for wanting to join the police." I said, trying to calm him.

"Yeah. I agree with Eri." Marco said.

"Whatever. I already hate that guy." Jean said.

"Men." I said with a sigh.

* * *

I waved at my friends and went inside my cabin.

I went to my room and sat on my bed.

 _I just realized, I don't even know who are my roommates are._ I thought to myself.

I waited a couple of minutes for everyone else to come.

My room had four beds.

"I wonder who my roommates are for the next three years." I whispered.

After another minute, the door opened and in came three girls.

It was Annie Leonhart, Sasha Blouse and Mikasa.

"Hey there ladies. I guess we're going to be roommates until graduation." I said with a smile.

Mikasa and Annie kept quiet. They nodded their heads and went straight to their beds.

Sasha on the other hand, she jumped on top of me.

"Do you know how pretty you are Eri!?" Sasha said

I was startled by this.

"W-What?" I looked at her confused.

"Oh I'm excited to have you as my roomie!" Sasha said as she hopped off and jumped on her bed.

I looked at Annie and she was deep in her thoughts.

"We should all rest. Instructor Keith said we're going to learn the maneuvering device in the morning." Mikasa said.

"You're right Mikasa. Good night ladies." I said as I turned off the light.

I didn't get any response so I tucked myself in and shut my eyes.

 _Even though today was the first day, I feel confident that we're all going to train well._


	2. Training

"Morning Ladies!" Sasha sang in the room.

"What?" I said groggily.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

Mikasa and Annie were also sitting on their bed with sleepy eyes.

Sasha is the only morning person out of the four of us.

"Morning." I said with a yawn.

Mikasa and Annie just nodded.

They sure are quiet.

We all got dressed and headed towards the dining area.

I picked up my breakfast and headed towards the same table I was at yesterday.

I was soon joined by Marco and Jean.

"Morning you two" I said with a smile.

"Morning." Jean said with a yawn.

"Good morning Eri." Marco smiled.

"You guys okay with your roommates?" I asked.

"Yeah. We're each other's roommate" Marco said.

"Really? That's cool" I smiled.

"There were also two other guys. But I didn't care to catch their names." Jean said.

I couldn't help but to sigh.

I learned that Jean's personality is blunt and he doesn't hesitate to speak his mind.

All of a sudden, there was a commotion going on around Eren's table.

I looked over to see what was going on.

There were a group of people surrounding Eren, Mikasa and Armin. They were all being questioned about what happened two years ago.

I heard the mention of the 'Colossal' Titan. Apparently, that titan was 60-meters tall and the one that caused the fall of Wall Maria.

It has even come to the point where we can hear people asking them the most ridiculous questions.

"What a joke." Jean said annoyed.

"What's wrong Jean?" Marco asked.

"I bet that guy is probably asking for popularity." Jean said.

"Come on Jean. That's a silly opinion." I said.

"Who cares. It's not even a big deal." Jean said bluntly.

"Well I think it's brave of them to be here. I'm pretty sure they must've went through a lot that day. Could be a good reason why they are here you know." I said and looked over at their table.

I overheard more ridiculous questions being asked.

"How did the Colossal titan look!?" Conny asked.

"How did all of those titans look!?" Shouted one kid.

"Wait! What about the people!?" Shouted another kid. "Did you see people being eaten!?"

Eren started choking from his food when the last question was asked.

 _I can't take this!_ A thought yelled in my head.

I sat up from my seat and walked over to Eren's table.

"Hey guys. Lay off the questions. Are you trying to bring back bad memories for them!? Stop asking about the events from two years ago!" I yelled.

Everyone looked at me with a surprised look.

The group of people apologized and headed back to their seats.

"I'm sorry you guys had to go through that." I said towards the three.

"Thanks for the help Eri." Eren said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "But don't worry about me. I'm not bothered by my memories."

"I'm fine too" Armin said.

"Me too." Mikasa added.

"Oh? Really? I thought you guys were getting overwhelmed from all those questions." I said and shrugged my shoulders.

"You know, I'm excited to master those maneuvering devices. Killing those titans would be a piece of cake!" Eren shouted in excitement.

"I see."

I stared at Eren.

I'm impressed with this guy. He has a lot of passion and determination in him.

I can tell he'd want to join the Survey Corps.

"Watch you become titan food instead." Jean yelled from our table.

"Jean!" I yelled at him.

I glared at Jean and he glared back at me.

After a couple of seconds, he changed his facial expression and looked away.

"I'm so sorry for Jean's behavior." I said towards Eren.

"It's okay. He's just a coward." Eren said quietly.

"Eren." Mikasa said in a serious tone.

"Whatever." Eren said coldy and looked away.

Soon, the bell rung which indicated that it was time for the line up.

"Well, later guys." I waved and headed back to Marco and Jean.

"Eri, I'm going to be honest, you're actually pretty cool." Marco said with a smile.

"Eh? Really?" I looked at him confused.

"Yeah. Honest." He said with a nervous laugh.

"Thanks." I smiled at him.

 _Marco's a sweet, nice guy while Jean can be a jerk and hot-headed._

It sort of balances out our friendship.

I chuckled at the thought as we walked to the field.

* * *

We all lined up in our spots while Keith was setting up the machines for us to practice our maneuvering device.

"Today, we are going to test your ability of balance." Keith said. "Let's see whose worthy of being a soldier!"

We all formed a single line and waited for our turns with the device.

I could feel my body shaking in excitement.

I always thought those devices were cool based on how my parents explained the mechanism of it.

After the first group of people tested their balance, it was my turn.

I stepped up to the machine and grabbed my belt.

I attached the harness to my thighs and stood in place.

"Are you ready!?" Keith asked.

I nodded my head.

 _Ready._

"Go!" Keith yelled.

I could hear the device making a noise and felt the harness lifting me up high.

At first, I wobbled around a bit and almost my balance.

Luckily, I managed to stay in my spot and got used to the device.

"Excellent! We have a lot of good soldiers here!" Keith said and nodded his head.

At first Keith looked amused and then looked at the device machine next to mine.

I didn't notice that Eren's machine was next to mine.

Unfortunately...

"Jaeger! You think this is a game!?" Keith shouted at Eren.

Eren was flipped upside down.

He had a shocked look on his face.

I myself am shocked too.

 _I thought he had potential. Didn't he say that this was going to be easy?_

We all removed the harness and lined back in our spots.

"Pft. I thought this guy was supposed to be tough or something. What a joke." Jean said.

"That's not nice Jean." I said and glared at him.

"Jaeger, since you seem to be the only failure, I'm giving you another chance after lunch to master this. If not, then you're unfit to be a soldier." Keith said. "DISMISSED!"

We all saluted and walked towards the dining area.

I could hear people snickering towards Eren and even making fun of him.

I felt bad.

People shouldn't be making fun of others.

But that's how humanity is. We all have our differences.

"What did I tell ya? You'll end up as titan food Eren." Jean taunted.

"Tell me, how did you guys do it?" Eren questioned. "What's the trick?"

"Trick? There's no trick. It's just a matter of balance. Besides, if there was a trick, I wouldn't have told you." Jean said and walked away.

"Please! Eri! I'm begging you! Tell me what's the trick!" Eren begged.

"Woah, Eren. No begging please. I am confident you'll master it after lunch." I said, trying to prevent Eren from embarrassing himself.

"Come on Eren. Mikasa and I will help you before lunch is over." Armin said.

"Yeah." Mikasa added.

"Alright." Eren sighed and followed his two friends away.

I picked up my lunch and sat next to Jean and Marco.

I looked at Jean and he was smirking.

"Boy did I enjoy Eren being pathetic." Jean said.

I sighed.

"Come on Jean. He does have one more shot." Marco said.

"Yeah but he should know what he's capable of before speaking. Who knows, you'd probably end up being he laughing stock like right now." Jean said as he ate his food.

I just shook my head and ate my lunch.

* * *

Once lunch was over, we all headed back to the field to observe Eren's second chance at the devices.

Eren put on his belt and harness and stood in front of the maneuvering device.

"Are you ready Jaeger? No more games!" Keith said. "Let's see if you're capable of being a soldier!"

"I'm ready!" Eren yelled with determination.

"You got this Eren!" I whispered quietly, cheering for him.

"Go!" Keith shouted and the harness lifted up Eren.

At first, It seemed as if Eren was going to flip again.

This time, he managed to maintain his balance and handled his form.

He mastered the maneuvering device!

I could see a couple of people cheering for Eren.

"Yeah! Eren!" I cheered.

I could hear Jean giving a light growl.

I gave a light laugh at Jean's behavior and stopped.

 _How cute_. I thought.

"Excellent Jaeger. It seems you somewhat have what it takes to be a soldier." Keith said.

Practice for the maneuvering device was officially done and Keith instructed us for our new training.

"Now, we will practice on combat. In order for us to become strong soldiers, we must learn how to fight." Keith said. "You will all pair up with a partner and spar with one another! You will be provided with an dummy knife to practice."

All the recruiters picked up their fake weapon and paired up.

Marco, Jean and I paired up together to fight.

We decided to take turns so it started off with Marco and I.

Marco and I stood a few feet apart and took our fighting stance. Jean stood at a distance to spectate.

"Ready Eri?" Marco asked.

"Yup" I said.

"Here goes!" Marco shouted as he turned his knife and headed straight at me.

Right when the knife was about to touch me, I dodge at the last second and grabbed Marco's hand.

I removed the knife from his grip and threw it to the ground.

Then, I grabbed his arm and flipped him to the ground as well.

"Oof!" Marco grunted.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Marco! Did that hurt?" I asked, concerned.

"No. I'm fine. You're pretty strong Eri." Marco said as I held out my hand and helped him up.

I looked at Jean.

"Your turn." I said with a smirk.

"I won't lose to you." Jean said.

"We'll see about that." I taunted.

With that, I ran towards Jean. He threw a weak punch at me which gave him an immediate opening.

I grabbed his arm and flipped him in a matter of seconds.

I pointed the fake knife close to this throat.

"Got you." I said with a smile.

I was sitting on top of him with my face close to his.

I looked at him and could feel something weird in my chest.

I felt my heart pumping fast and my face getting hot.

 _What is this feeling I'm having?_

 _Why do I have a nervous sensation in my system?_

I heard Marco clearing his throat which snapped me away from my thoughts.

"S-Sorry!" I stuttered and got off of Jean.

"Heh. Didn't think you'd be this strong." Jean said, trying to not show his embarrassment.

"W-Well, I do want to be like my parents." I said quietly.

"Well, I guess it's my turn with Jean." Marco said as he picked up the knife from the ground.

"Y-Yeah." I said as I stepped back to spectate.

Jean and Marco started their combat and I looked around.

I noticed Annie sneaking around, avoiding anyone in her way.

She wasn't even practicing her combat.

With that, I approached her.

"Hey Annie." I greeted her with a smile.

"Hey." She said quietly.

"Why aren't you practicing your combat?" I asked.

"That's because I think it's pointless." She said.

"Hm? Why do you think that?" I asked, tilting my head.

"We're here to fight titans. Not people. When do you think we would ever use these skills? I'm pretty sure we'll die if we use stupid knives around the titans." She said.

"I guess you do have a point." I said, finger to my chin. "But you'll get into trouble if you're just walking around, not doing anything."

"Then let's spar." Annie said and took a stance.

I was startled by this but I smiled and took my stance as well.

"No problem for me." I said.

I threw the first punch towards Annie and my hair flew into my face.

I was caught off guard because of that and Annie took advantage of it.

She took a grip at my arm and shoulder and flipped me.

Boy did she flip me hard.

"Ouch." I said as I landed on the ground.

"Sorry. That's how I fight." Annie said.

"No complaints here. You're an amazing fighter Annie. I'm impressed." I said as I got up. "How did you learn to fight like that?"

Annie looked at me and then looked away.

She seemed deep in thought.

She then answered after a minute. "My father." She said.

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry if my question made you feel uncomfortable." I said, feeling bad.

"It's okay." Annie said "Here."

She took something out from her pocket.

It was a hair clip.

She tossed it to me and I caught it.

"A hair clip?" I looked at her confused.

"The only reason why I was able to flip you easily was because your hair was in the way. Use this hair clip. It'll help prevent you from being titan meat when we confront them." She said.

I was happy at the fact that Annie was being so kind to me.

She was so quiet last night and this morning. It was nice to finally talk to her.

"Thank you Annie." I smiled and placed the hair clip on my head.

 _Now my hair won't get in the way anymore._

I looked at Annie and noticed the corner of her lips curl up a bit but then she went back to her cold, quiet look.

"Don't worry about it." Was all she said.

We were soon approached by Eren and another guy.

This guy was around the same height at Jean with blonde hair and muscular.

If I remember correctly, I think his name is Reiner Braun.

"Wow Annie. I saw how you flipped Eri. That was really cool" Eren said as he stood next to me.

"Just so you know Eren, if Annie were to flip you right now, you won't think it's cool anymore." I said with a laugh.

"We'll see about that." Eren said as he took his fighting stance.

Within a few seconds, Annie flipped him with ease and I started laughing.

"What did I say Eren." I said, still laughing.

"Wow. That was still cool." Eren said while getting up. "You should teach me Annie!"

"Why?" Annie looked at him as if he was weird.

"I want to learn that flip. It is really strong." Eren said with passion in his eyes.

"Uh. Sure." Annie said quietly and then looked at Reiner. "Hey Reiner. You haven't said a single word."

I looked at Reiner as well. What I didn't notice was that he was staring at me the entire time.

"Uhm. Is something wrong Reiner?" I asked, waving my hand in his face.

It was like he was transfixed on me or something.

Suddenly, Reiners' face turned red and he looked away.

"It-It's nothing." He said

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah." He stuttered.

"You're pathetic Reiner." Annie said with a sigh. "He thinks you're pretty Eri."

"A-Annie!" Reiner called out her name.

"Eh?" I blinked a couple of times in confusion.

 _Me? Pretty?_

 _Does Reiner like me?_ I thought to myself.

"Well, that's really flattering." I said with a small laugh. "Thanks Reiner"

I smiled towards him and his face was getting redder.

"Eri!" Jean shouted.

I jumped at the sound of Jean's voice.

It startled me.

"Yes Jean?" I said, turning around to see Jean walking towards me.

"What are you doing here!? Come back with me!" He shouted.

He quickly grabbed my hand and dragged me away from the group.

I gave an apologetic smile and waved towards my friends.

I couldn't help but to blush as I continued being dragged away.

Jean was holding my hand.

That was making me blush.

 _Could it be I might be developing feelings for Jean?_ I asked myself.

 _Nonsense. I just met the guy yesterday._

 _I mean, sure he's kind of cute and charming. But he does have a nasty personality._

I shook my thoughts away.

 _I'm probably being silly._

"We almost lost you Eri." Marco said with a faint smile.

"Sorry. I saw Annie and walked up to talk to her." I said

"I saw the two of you spar. Boy is she strong." Marco said.

"Yeah. She's pretty cool." I said, smiling at how kind she was before.

"Well, what were you and that guy talking about?" Jean asked.

"Who? Eren?" I questioned.

"No. Reiner." Jean said, glaring towards Reiner.

I couldn't help but to chuckle which made Marco and Jean confused.

"Apparently he thinks I'm pretty." I said and gave a small laugh.

"R-Really!?" Jean said, startled.

"Yeah. It was flattering and funny." I said.

"D-Do you like him?" Jean stuttered.

"Eh? No. I'd like him as a friend. That's all." I said, smiling at Jean's behavior.

 _He sure is acting weird._

Jean heaved out a heavy sigh and looked at me.

"That's good. Now, let's continue fighting." He said and turned towards Marco.

* * *

Once combat training was over, Keith dismissed us for the day and we saluted.

We all headed back to our cabins. All four of us were there.

"Ah! What do we do now!" Sasha said, jumping on her bed.

"We lay down and rest." Annie said.

"But I don't wanna rest!" Sasha protest.

"Then we do nothing." Mikasa said.

"Well, how about we get to know each other more. You know, since the four of us will be stuck together for the next three years." I said with a smile.

"I like that idea!" Sasha shouted in excitement.

"I'll pass." Annie said.

"Me too." Mikasa added.

I gave a whiny frown.

"Awh. You ladies are such a mystery." I said.

The room had an awkward silence for a couple of minutes.

I need to break the ice.

"Hey Mikasa." I started speaking.

"Hm?"

"Are you and Eren related?" I asked.

They do seem quite close.

"Well, he's a friend, but I treat him more like a brother." She answered.

"Oh I see." I said and looked at Sasha.

She was already knocked out.

I looked back at Mikasa and she got up from her bed.

"I'm going to take a walk." She said.

"Oh alright."

With that, she left the room.

Then, I looked at Annie.

She always had a cold expression. It's rare to see her smile.

She seemed to be lost in deep thought again. That's something I would always see her do.

"Can I ask you something." Annie said.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Why did you join the military?" She asked.

"Oh. Well..."

I explained to her about my parents and my passion for joining the Survey Corps.

"...so because of that, I only have this piece of item to remember my parents by." I said and pulled something out from my shirt.

It was a medium sized locket.

"What's that?" Annie asked.

"My mother gave me this locket before their expedition. She told me that she hid some of her research information inside this locket. Too bad I can't open it to read it." I said.

"You plan on researching titans?" Annie questioned.

"Yeah. I want to be an Elite Soldier that researches the titans. I want to continue my mother's research and make sure they didn't die in vain." I said, looking at the ground.

"That's cool." Annie said. "I'm sure you'll discover a lot."

"Thanks Annie." I smiled at her.

I'm pretty happy to have this private conversation with Annie.

"What about you Annie? Do you know which group you'll join?" I asked.

"I'm going to join the police." She said.

"Oh.." I said sadly. "Jean wants to join the police too."

"Do you like him?" Annie asked bluntly.

"W-What!? N-No!" I stuttered.

Where did she get that idea from!?

"Suit yourself." She said and went to her bed.

I was getting ready to tuck myself into bed as well until Annie spoke.

"By the way, Reiner has a crush on you. So don't freak out if he acts weird around you." She said.

"Okay." I laughed.

Even though I only got to know Annie today, I had a strange feeling that I could really trust her.


	3. Time Skip

_Our three years of training passed by._

 _We all improved ourselves and graduation was just a day away._

 _I've gotten pretty close with the ladies in my room but I was extremely close with Annie the most._

 _Although I've come to consider Annie one of my closest friend, it seems as if she was pushing me away sometimes._

 _I never let that bother me. I always thought that she just had some sort of secret she's not ready to tell yet so I respected it._

 _Of course, Marco, Jean and I became an awesome trio. We considered each other 'best friends' if that label even counts._

 _As for my feelings for Jean, they kind of grew stronger. Somehow, I was falling in love with this hot-headed guy._

"I hate your disgusting face!" Eren yelled.

"Say that again dragon breath!" Jean yelled back.

It was morning. Eren and Jean has been going at it with their arguments since day 1 here.

It basically became more of a routine for this to happen.

"Here we go again Marco." I said sarcastically.

"I got his left." Marco said

"I got his right." I said.

We both walked up to Jean, grabbed his arms and pulled him away from Eren.

Meanwhile, Mikasa and Armin pulled Eren away.

"Let go of me! I wanna punch that stupid smug face of his!" Jean shouted.

"No Jean! You will do no such thing!" I yelled at him.

"I hate his guts!" Jean shouted.

"Oh Jean." I shook my head.

Eren and Jean's rivalry will never be the end of it.

"Jean. Remember what we talked about last night?" Marco said to Jean with a serious look.

Jean still had an angry look on his face then looked at me.

I tilted my head in confusion.

 _What did they talk about last night?_ I wondered.

Jean's face relaxed and sighed. "I'm calm." he said.

"What did you two talk about?" I asked.

"It's nothing." Marco smiled innocently.

"Yeah. It's just guy stuff." Jean said quietly.

"Oh. Okay." With a faint smile, I looked away.

 _Men._

* * *

We all left the dining room and headed our way to the field.

We saddled up our maneuvering devices to train on killing titan dummies.

We've been training for the past few months to fully master our skills.

"Today, you are told to kill as many titan dummies as possible. The more kills you have, the more you'll strive at aiming for the top! I want to see those cuts nice and deep! NO MISTAKES!" Keith instructed us.

I fixed up my harness and got my swords ready.

I had my thumbs ready next to the button once Keith gives us the go.

"You all have one hour! GO!" Keith blew the whistle.

With that, I pushed the button and flew my way around the trees. I dashed as fast as I could, trying to get a head of everyone.

 _I'll get to the top!_

Kill after kill, I kept slashing the nape of their necks and counted my kills.

So far, I managed to kill 13 titan dummies. I heard that Mikasa had 15. Two more than me.

Mikasa was really very skillful. She's practically like a prodigy here!

"Nice job Mikasa! I won't lose to you!" I said.

"We'll see." She said with a smirk.

We both spotted another dummy up ahead and I moved faster to get the kill.

Out from the bushes, I noticed Sasha and Conny heading for the same dummy.

"This one is mine!" Sasha shouted.

"No way! You stole the last one from me! I won't let you have this one!" Conny shouted.

"Hold on! That's my kill!" I shouted and had my swords ready.

"Beat us to it Eri!" Sasha said as she stuck her tongue out at me.

"Too bad I'm there first!" Conny shouted as he got right behind the dummy.

He was right about to slash that neck until someone else took the kill.

"W-What the!?" Conny just hung there and looked around.

Krista Lenz, a really sweet girl, stood next to me.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I had my eye on it and took the opportunity." Krista said with an innocent smile.

I looked at Conny and he was blushing. He even had a weird look on his face.

"I-It's okay Krista. You can have this kill." Conny said with hearts in his eyes.

I stood, shook my head and laughed.

"Good job Krista. How many kills you got so far?" I asked.

"I think this is my eighth kill." Krista said with a smile.

"That's nice." Sasha gave a thumbs up.

"Oi Krista." Ymir, Krista's best friend popped out. "When this is all over, we should get married."

Ymir had her arm around Krista's and patted her head.

I've seen those two sticking by each other since the first week of the military. It was cute.

"Eri!" Jean called out to me. "You're going to fall behind if you don't follow me!"

I looked at Jean and laughed.

He seems to be acting a bit overprotective of me lately. I have no complaints.

"Sorry Jean!" I gave a smile towards my friends and followed Jean.

We continued our training and killed more titan dummies.

"You know Jean, you should talk more." I said.

"Why do you say that?" He asked.

"Well, I know Marco and I are the only ones you've been talking a lot too. I would love to see you talk to others like how you've talked to us." I answered, smiling towards him.

Jean was quiet for a bit.

"Nah. I'm not that type of person to buddy up with everyone. I'm content just have you and Marco as my friend." He said, looking away.

"Okay. I see."

I just looked at him and smiled.

 _Jean sure is something._ I thought to myself.

"There you guys are!" Marco shouted as he landed next to us.

"Where were you Marco?" I asked. "You disappeared from us at the start of training."

"Sorry, I got lost but I ended up with Armin. He was having trouble catching up to the rest of us. Luckily, Reiner showed up and helped him." Marco said.

"Oh that's cool. Reiner's a nice guy." I said.

"Hey!" Jean protested.

"Eh? What?" I looked at him oddly.

"W-What about me?" Jean asked. He had a weird look on his face.

I couldn't help but to laugh.

It sounded like he was jealous. I find that very cute of him.

"Don't worry Jean. You're a really nice guy too." I said and poked his cheek.

"Oh Jean. You're silly." Marco said with a laugh.

"Well guys, let's head back. I think our hour is up." I said.

"Alright. Let's go before we get yelled at by Instructor Keith." Marco added.

* * *

We all headed back to the field entrance and lined up in front of Keith.

"Good job everyone. There were many of you that did exceptionally well while others made simple mistakes. Some of you didn't slash the necks deep enough!" Keith said.

He looked around his surroundings, eyeing each cadet.

"I would like to discuss about your graduation tomorrow. Remember, out of 104 of you, only 10 of you will make it to the top. Our Top 10 are the only ones who can join the Military Police. Other than that, the rest of you will have a choice between the Garrison or Survey Corps. GOT THAT!?" Keith said.

We all stood there and nodded our heads.

"After your graduation, you will be assigned to different squads to work for the military for a day. Once that is over, you will all choose your group to officially join. Choose wisely or else you'll regret your decision. With that, I wish you all the best of luck."

Keith put up a poker face and saluted towards us to dismiss us.

We all saluted back.

"I better be number one! Military police here I come!"" Jean raised his fist in excitement.

"I am curious to know who our Top 10 will be. I know for sure Mikasa will be. She's such a strong character." I said, looking at Mikasa's direction.

"Well, I think you will be on the top Eri." Marco said.

"Huh? Why you think that?" I asked.

"Your skills are just as good as Mikasa's. You are second to her whenever we train. Plus, you're a strong person as well. I don't think any of us can match the two of you." Marco answered.

"Oh wow. I never thought of that. Thanks for letting me know Marco. But I don't think I'm that skillful. I'm just doing whatever I can to follow my parents path. That's all." I said, putting my finger to my chin.

"I agree with Marco. You're a very strong person Eri. You got what it takes to be a strong soldier. You are definitely not letting your parents down. Just keep doing whatever it is you're doing. That's what I like about you." Jean said.

He had his hand on my shoulder when he spoke to me.

I could feel my face getting red.

 _That's what he like about me?_

I guess Jean realized what he said because his face turned red as well.

"Ah! I-I mean..." he trailed off.

We were silent for a bit.

"Hey guys. Let's do the best we can before we go our separate ways." Marco said.

I looked at my friend.

"Have you finally decided which group you want to join?" I asked.

"Yeah. I did. I spoke to Jean about it last night." He said.

I looked at Jean and he didn't say anything.

"Which group are you joining?" I repeated my question.

"I'm joining the Military police." He said.

"Oh. That's really nice. You'll be with Jean then." I smiled at the thought.

Pretty soon, I grew sad and frowned.

 _I'll be separated from Jean and Marco._

 _I won't be able to see Jean anymore._

"What's wrong Eri? You look sad." A concerned Jean said.

"I am sad. You guys are going to the police while I join the Survey Corps. We won't be a trio anymore." I said.

I held in the tears that were forming in my eyes.

"Don't be sad Eri. We'll still keep in contact with you." Marco said, cheering me up.

"Really?" I asked, smiling.

"Of course Eri." Jean spoke. "We've been together since day one. Why would I let our friendship stop now? Silly girl."

Jean wrapped his arm around me and lightly noogie my head.

"Jean! Stop that!" I said with a laugh.

Marco stood there and laughed along.

 _I truly am glad to have Marco and Jean as my best friends._

* * *

Once the three of us were done fooling around, we headed back to our rooms.

I noticed Eren and Annie talking to each other so I ran up to them.

"Hey guys!" I greeted my friends.

"Hey Eri. Great job out there today." Eren said.

"Thanks but I know I'm not as good as Mikasa. She's phenomenal." I said, scratching the back of my head.

"Well, she's always a tough person. I wouldn't be surprised if she's on the top 10." Eren said.

"What about you?" I asked.

"Of course I have to be top also!" Eren shouted.

I couldn't help but to laugh.

"Where is Mikasa anyways?" I asked.

"She's with Armin over there." Annie said, pointing ahead.

I could see Armin and Mikasa talking to each other. They must be waiting for Eren.

"If you excuse me ladies." Eren waved at us and caught up with Armin and Mikasa.

"Well, let's head back to our room." I said.

Annie nodded her head and we started walking.

"You know, I still can't believe three years has passed. Graduation is tomorrow!" I said in excitement.

"I guess it did go by fast." She said. "You still going to the Survey Corps?"

"Yeah. Military Police for you?" I asked.

"Yeah." She answered quietly.

"Am I still going to see you when we separate? Or at least still keep contact with you?" I asked.

Annie was silent for a long minute.

"Maybe." Was all she could say.

I looked at her oddly.

 _Maybe?_

"Why maybe?" I asked.

She was silent again for another minute.

"What if Titans attack? Some of us may die. We may never see each other again if that happens." She said, changing the subject.

"Even if that does happen, I'll make sure we all stay safe and unharmed. My job in the Survey Corps is to protect everyone." I said with a frown.

Annie was right.

Those titans could attack any moment.

 _It has been five years since the last attack..._

"I guess we can grab tea together after we choose our classes. Deal?" Annie said.

I grew a big smile.

"Deal!" I said happily. "You're the best Annie! I'm glad we can still stay as best friends after we graduate."

Annie looked down and then looked back at me with a tiny smile.

"Same here." She said.


	4. Graduation

"Today, all of you will leave here as a stronger person. Each of you will now have the knowledge and strength to protect humanity." Keith spoke.

It's graduation day and we all lined up in our spots, listening to Keith's speech.

"I would like to name our Top 10 soldiers within our 104th Trainee Squad! When I say your name, please step forward!" Keith shouted.

We all got tense and saluted, awaiting for names to be called.

"Krista Lenz!"

Krista looked at Ymir and smiled. Ymir smiled back as Krista stepped up.

"Sasha Blouse!"

Sasha's eyes widened and then stepped forward.

"Conny Springer!"

Conny was surprised to hear his name then stepped forward.

"Marco Bott!"

Marco's face lit up.

"Jean Kirstein!"

Jean's smile was wide. I smiled too.

I'm very happy for my two friends.

"Eren Jaeger!"

Eren didn't react and just stepped forward.

"Annie Leonhart!"

Annie's poker face remained the same.

I was happy for Annie as well.

"Reiner Braun!"

Reiner had a confident look on his face and moved up.

"Eri Sotomayo!"

My eyes widened in shock.

 _I really made it to the top?_

 _I hope my parents are watching me from above._

 _They'd be proud of me._

I stepped up and stood next to Reiner.

"Mikasa Ackerman!"

Mikasa was definitely someone I knew who'd made it as number one.

"The 10 of you are welcomed to join the Police force. Congrats to everyone and report for your squad duty in Trost District immediately!"

We all gave Keith our final salute as he saluted back.

Since the ceremony was over, I ran towards Jean and Marco and gave them a huge hug.

"We made it to the top guys!" I yelled

"Yeah! I'm so glad the three of us made it." Marco said.

"I hope the police is ready for me!" Jean yelled.

I could feel the tears swelling up again.

"What's wrong Eri?" Marco asked, concerned.

"It's nothing. I'm just very glad all of our hard work paid off." I said, wiping off a few tears.

"You're definitely making your parents proud." Jean said.

He patted my head and gave me one of his charming smile.

I could feel my face flushing.

"Thanks Jean." I smiled back.

 _Maybe it's best if I don't tell Jean my feelings._

"If you two are done, Let's head to Trost District and get our assigned squad." Marco said.

We nodded our heads and left.

* * *

Once we reached to Trost District, we headed to the military headquarters where someone assigned us to our squad.

The three of us were assigned as squad leaders in our own group.

We were given different tasks to do with our squads.

"Time to go meet my squad. See you two later" Marco waved and took off.

"Same here. See ya Eri. Stay out of trouble" Jean said as he winked and he took off.

I blushed at the fact that Jean winked at me.

"Eri!" Someone called out to me.

I turned around to see Sasha and Conny walking towards me.

"Hey guys." I greeted my friends. "I guess ya'll found out I'm your squad leader?"

"Yeah. That's why we're here." Conny said. "Man, this is gonna be troublesome."

"Eh? Why you say that Conny?" I asked, confused.

"I don't know. It's just weird to take orders from a friend." Conny said, feeling embarrassed and scratching the back of his neck.

"Awh don't worry Conny. Eri is an awesome person!" Sasha said as she squeezed me into a hug.

I let go of Sasha and laughed.

"You two sure are funny."

I stopped laughing and gave a serious look.

"Alright squad. We're ordered to assist Eren's squad on Wall Rose to clean the Garrison's cannons. So let's pick up our maneuvering devices and head up!" I ordered my squad.

"Yes ma'am!" Conny and Sasha shouted as they saluted me.

We picked up our devices and made our way to the top of the wall.

"Yo! Eren!" I smiled as I greeted my friend.

"Hey there Eri." Eren smiled back.

I looked at his squad and noticed Armin.

"Hi Armin. Didn't know you're in Eren's squad also." I said.

"Yeah. Was put in this group last minute." He said.

There were two other people next to Armin and Eren, one guy and one girl.

"Hi guys. I'm Eri." I introduced myself.

"I'm Mina." Said the girl.

"Samuel." Said the guy.

"Nice to meet you." I smiled and walked up to the cannon.

* * *

For the next hour or so, we spent our time cleaning and chatting.

Eren was explaining about his hatred for the titans to Mina and Samuel.

His story inspired Mina on wanting to join the Survey Corps.

As for Samuel, he said that he wants to join the Garrison regiment.

It was nice to meet new people.

"Uh. Eri." Conny called out to me.

"What's up Conny?" I looked at my friend.

"Where did Sasha go?" Conny asked.

"Eh? She's not with you?" I questioned.

I looked around and noticed that she's missing.

"No. I thought she was with you." Conny said.

"That's strange." I turned to Eren. "Hey Eren, have you seen Sasha?"

"Nope. She probably went to the bathroom or something." Eren said.

"I guess so. She does have a habit of disappearing." I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

Within the next couple of minutes, Sasha finally reappeared.

"Hey you guys." Sasha said quietly, hiding something behind her back.

"Oi Sasha, where the hell were you?" Conny asked.

We all stopped cleaning the cannons and crowded around Sasha.

"I sneaked into the meat shop and grabbed this." Sasha said as she pulled out a big piece of cooked meat.

"You stole that!?" I yelled.

"Sasha!" Conny yelled her name.

"Shh!" Sasha put a finger to my mouth then spoke quietly. "It looked so yummy. Thought I could take it so we can share with each other."

"Hey, that does look yummy." Samuel said.

"I'm up for eating this meat. We'd probably won't be able to find an opportunity to enjoy a good meal." Mina said.

Eren and I looked at each other then sighed.

"Suit yourself guys. I'm not gonna be a part of it." I said with a nervous smile.

So everyone grabbed a piece of meat and enjoyed it.

After that, we continued cleaning the cannons.

I looked at Eren and noticed him just staring across Trost District.

"Something on your mind Eren?" I asked.

"No. I was just thinking about how five years passed since that event." Eren said. "Now, I'm here, ready to fight titans. It feels almost as if humanity might have a chance on winning for once."

"That's very positive of you to say that Eren." I smiled towards him.

"Well, I certainly know that this is just the beginning of our career." He said and smiled back.

All of a sudden, the sound of thunder clapped behind us.

I turned around to see what was up.

The smile I had turned into an instant frown.

I was lost for words and tapped on Eren's shoulder.

"What's wrong Eri?" Eren said as he turned around.

 _No way..._

 _No freaking way..._

 _There, right in front of us, is a gigantic head staring at us._

 _The head of a titan._

 _A titan, probably about 60-meters._

 _Staring at us with menacing eyes._

 _Could this be the Colossal titan Eren seen five years ago?_


	5. Trost District: Defend

_There, the so-called Colossal titan stands right in front of us._

 _It's so tall that the only thing preventing it from coming inside is Wall Rose._

 _How did this titan get behind us!_

 _We didn't even see anything!_

 _How!?_

"W-What the..." Eren said quietly.

Before any of us can respond, we felt something hit the wall below us.

The wall started shaking and we all kept our balance.

Suddenly, a gust of hot air blasted from the titans body in which it blew us all out of the wall.

We're practically falling straight to the ground!

"Everyone! Use your device!" I yelled on the top of my lungs.

We all anchored onto the wall and safely prevented ourselves from falling to our deaths.

"Samuel!" Sasha yelled.

I saw that Samuel was unconscious and his body kept falling.

"I got him!" I yelled out.

I unhooked the anchor and started running down along the wall.

I ran as fast as I could and pressed the button.

I had one string of rope wrapped around Samuel's leg and the other anchored onto the wall to hold the both of us.

I sighed in relief because I managed to save Samuel in time.

"Is everyone okay!?" I shouted.

"Yes! But look down guys!" Conny shouted.

He was pointing below us and we looked.

My eyes widened in shock.

There's a huge hole on Wall Rose. It's practically big enough for titans to get in!

"Oh no! The wall!" Mina shouted.

"I-It's broken!" Armin shouted.

I looked at Eren and he had a look of hatred on his face.

It was a facial expression I've never seen anyone had.

"Titans!" Sasha yelled.

I looked back at the hole on the wall and saw that Titans were getting inside.

 _Trost District is under attack!_

I could hear civilians screaming and running for their lives.

"WE MUST HEAD BACK! EVERYONE RETREAT!" I yelled as I reeled Samuel close to me.

"No! MY SQUAD PREPARE TO BATTLE! THE TARGET IS THE COLOSSAL TITAN!" Eren yelled.

He took out his swords and headed straight back up.

"Eren no!" I called out to him.

"Eren!" Armin yelled out.

He ignored us and went back to where the Colossal titan was.

"What do we do Eri!?" Conny asked.

"We defend Eren!" I said.

Everyone else took out their swords and made their way to the top.

Samuel was still unconscious so I carried him on my back and made my way to the top.

As soon as I got to the top of the wall, the Colossal titan was no where in sight and Eren was just standing there. His swords were broken.

"Eren!" I called out to him. "Where's the Colossal titan?"

Eren just stood there and stared at his broken swords.

"It disappeared." He answered quietly.

"What do you mean disappeared?" Armin asked.

"It's just like last time Armin. It disappeared." Eren said.

I stood there in disbelief.

 _Is this really happening?_

"Is everyone alright!?" Someone shouted.

The response team showed up.

"We're okay." Mina said.

"Retreat now! Report to headquarters on what you witnessed!"

We all saluted towards the response team and headed back to the inner wall.

* * *

"Armin, Mina, take Samuel and bring him to the medics. I'm going to report what we saw." I said.

They nodded their heads and picked up Samuel from my back.

"Conny, Sasha, let's go!" I said.

We headed towards the police and told them everything we saw.

Pretty soon, all the trainees that graduated today were ordered to line up for orders.

Once we did, we were all ordered to prepare for battle.

I noticed a lot of people shaking in fear.

I can't blame them. All of this happened so sudden.

 _Some of us may die today._ I thought to myself sadly.

"Eri, want us to refill your gas tank?" Conny asked.

"Yeah. Sure." I said and handed him my tanks.

"We'll be back." Sasha said.

I nodded my head and stood there, waiting for my friends to come back.

"Eri!" I heard Jean yell.

I turned around to see Jean and Marco running towards me.

"Jean! Marco!" I called out to them.

Jean came up to me and held me in a tight hug.

At first, I was shocked but then I hugged back.

 _I must've made him worried._

"Thank goodness you're safe!" He said.

"I'm sorry if I made you worry Jean." I said.

He let go of me and looked at me.

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

"No. I'm fine." I said with a small smile.

"Where did that bastard of a titan go?" He asked.

"I don't know. Eren went after it but he said it disappeared." I answered.

"That is strange." Marco said.

"Yeah." I said as I looked down.

I remember feeling that extreme hot air.

It was definitely strange.

 _Why do they exert hot air?_

"I can't believe this is happening." Marco said.

"I thought the same thing." I added.

"Do you know where you're ordered to guard?" Jean asked.

"Yeah. My squad's been ordered to be near the vanguard in the south." I said.

"Okay. I'll be in the east." Jean said.

"West for me." Marco said.

"Let's all be careful okay?" I said.

I held my hand out.

"Yeah." Marco placed his hand on top of mine.

"I'll be extra careful." Jean said as he placed his hand on top.

We then raised our hands in the air and went separate ways.

My squad came back with my tanks and I placed them onto my device.

"We're going to the south vanguard. We're ordered to attack any titan that are on sight and ensure the citizens evacuate." I said to my squad.

Conny and Sasha nodded their heads.

With that, we left headquarters and made our way within Trost District.

 _We must defend Trost District and Wall Rose at all cost!_

* * *

"You guys, I'm actually afraid." Conny said.

"Me too." Sasha said quietly.

"It is scary but we did signed up for this. No more talking. Be on the lookout for titans." I said.

"Alright." Conny said.

We all stood on top of the roofs near the vanguard.

 _Let's just hope we can do this..._

"Titan sighted! 8-meter at twelve o'clock!" Sasha shouted.

"What!?" I said

I could see the titan heading towards our direction.

I feel my stomach turning. Seeing the titan was making me very nervous.

"My god..." Conny said quietly.

"Okay guys. Please be careful. Don't forget to get the nape of the neck." I ordered my squad.

"Right." Both of them said.

We drew our swords and cautiously made our way to the titan.

As soon as I got near it, I swung my swords at the nape and killed it.

"We got one!" Conny shouted.

"Don't celebrate too early. There's more coming." I said and pointed to our left.

There were three more coming.

We each split up and headed towards the titans.

We managed to kill them and regrouped.

"If they're here in the south, does that mean a lot of them came through the hole?" Sasha asked.

"Probably. I just hope all the other squads are being careful." I said.

"Should we still stay here Eri?" Conny asked.

I looked at my surroundings. I noticed more squads just roaming around.

"We should move around, kill any titan on sight. If there's anyone that requires help, help with caution." I said.

They nodded their heads.

"Let's go!"

With that, we used our devices and flew our way between roofs and walls.

We killed any titan we saw as we're roaming around.

We even traveled deeper in Trost District and started seeing dead bodies around.

It was a horrible sight.

I could see half eaten bodies, decomposing titans and human limbs around the area.

"This is disgusting." I whispered to myself.

"Hey! I see someone up ahead!" Sasha yelled.

She pointed at the right where there were two titans.

Along with that, I noticed Armin standing on the roof.

He wasn't moving an inch. He's just standing there.

"It's Armin!" Conny said.

"Why is he just standing there!?" Sasha said.

"I don't know! Let's go save Armin!" I shouted.

I darted ahead from Conny and Sasha and slashed the two titans in one strike.

"Armin!" I yelled out his name as we came up to him.

"Oi! Armin!" Conny shouted as he put his hands on Armin's shoulders.

"Are you okay?" Sasha asked.

Armin just continued to stand there. He looked really pale and his eyes were really wide.

Conny kept shaking him for another minute, trying to snap him back to reality.

"Armin!" I shouted.

I walked up to Armin and lightly slapped his cheek.

He finally blinked.

"E-Eri?" He looked at me.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"Why is it just you here?" Sasha asked.

Armin went quiet again.

"Pull yourself together man! Where's the rest of your squad?" Conny asked.

As Conny continued to shake Armin, I looked around.

I didn't see any sign of Armin's squad. No sign of Eren as well and I know he's the squad leader.

"Eri..." Sasha said my name quietly.

"What Sasha?" I looked at her.

"Look over there, it's Samuel." Sasha said, pointing at the ground.

Her finger was shaking.

I looked down and saw Samuel, or at least, half of Samuel.

My eyes widened in shock.

 _I was just with Samuel a few hours ago._

 _How could he be dead?_

"Samuel. What on earth..." I said sadly.

"What happened here?" Sasha questioned.

"Armin! What happened!?" Conny shouted.

All of a sudden, Armin screamed and fell to his knees.

"Armin!" I kneel next to my friend and looked at him.

Armin was crying uncontrollably and he was shaking.

"Armin, please tell me what happened." I said calmly, trying to calm him down.

"They...They..." He said between sobs.

"They've all been eaten." Someone said.

I looked up to see who spoke and it was Ymir.

"Ymir?" I looked at her.

"How are you sure they've been eaten?" Sasha asked.

"Look around, we're surrounded by dead bodies and he's the only one left from his squad." Ymir said.

"Even Eren?" Conny asked.

"Probably. Ask him." Ymir said, looking at Armin.

"Armin? Did Eren get eaten?" I asked, preventing my voice from shaking.

Armin stayed quiet and kept shaking.

He then slowly nod his head.

My eyes widened slowly.

 _Eren._

 _How did you get eaten?_

 _What happened to saving humanity?_

 _Eren had so much potential, and now he's gone._

"Where's your squad Ymir?" Conny asked.

"They've been eaten." Krista said as she showed up and stood next to Ymir.

"Those bastards killed everyone on my squad. It's just me and Krista left." Ymir said.

"We shouldn't stay here then. It's not safe." Conny said.

"We should head back to headquarters." Sasha said.

"Yeah. Can you stand Armin?" I asked

"Yes." He finally spoke.

Armin stood up and looked at me.

"I'm heading to the rearguard." Armin said and took off.

"Wait! Armin!" I shouted out to him.

We all took off and followed after him.

 _How can all of this happen so suddenly?_

 _We just had our graduation ceremony today and now, we're here fighting titans and becoming bait!_

 _We already lost innocent people._

 _Worst of all, I'm losing new friends and old friends._

 _How will I be able to save humanity?_

 _How will I be able to follow my parents path?_

 _How?_


	6. Trost District: HQ

We followed Armin all the way back to the rearguard where other squads were hanging around.

They all looked as if they were ready to accept defeat.

Some people are also sitting around, shaking or crying in fear.

"Eri, I'm running out of gas." Conny said.

"Same here" Sasha added.

I looked at my device and realized that I'm running low as well.

"Damn..." I said quietly.

"Shouldn't there be some backup crew to refill our gas?" Ymir said, looking annoyed.

"They can't come. The building that holds our supplies are taken over by titans." Someone from a different squad said.

We looked ahead towards the building and saw that it was surrounded by titans.

"What the hell..." I whispered.

"Eri!" Marco shouted.

I turned around to see Marco running towards me.

 _Marco's still alive!_

"Marco!" I called his name.

 _I was sad._

 _Really sad._

 _Seeing Samuel's half eaten body._

 _Learning about Eren's death and Mina possibly eaten as well got to me._

 _I tried to be brave the entire time._

 _Now, I can't handle it._

 _I'm relieved to see Marco alive._

I ran up to Marco and embraced him.

"E-Eri?" Marco looked at me confused. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just really glad you're safe!" I said.

I could feel myself panicking.

"Jean! Where's Jean!?" I shouted.

Marco looked at me, surprised by my behavior.

"H-He's over there." Marco said, pointing where Jean is.

He was learning against a chimney.

I let go of Marco and ran towards Jean.

He didn't seem to notice me. He was deep in thought.

"Jean!" I yelled out to him.

I ran up to him and hugged him like how he hugged me earlier.

"Hey Eri" Jean said as he stroke my hair.

"I'm really happy you're alive" I said, burying my face in his chest.

"Yeah. I'm glad too." Jean said quietly.

I let go of Jean and looked at him.

Something is wrong with him.

"Are you okay Jean? What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Our headquarters surrounded by titans. We're all out of gas. Our people has either been eaten or lost the will to fight. I lost my squad to those bastards." Jean said.

Jean looks as if he's scared.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Marco asked, walking next to me.

"Give up. That's what we're doing here." Jean said as he leaned against the chimney again.

"But can't we kill some titans and get to headquarters to refill our gas?" I asked.

"No. If we gave up on our end, it's most likely people inside the building has given up as well." Jean said with a disappointed look.

"What!? Give up!?" I shouted.

"Yeah. Give up. It's the best option." Jean said.

I didn't like his response.

The Jean I know wouldn't sound like a coward.

"No Jean. I'm not accepting defeat! We will fight!" I yelled.

Everybody turned to look at my direction.

"I don't care how much gas I have left! We have comrades inside that building that needs our help! I refuse to give up and neither should you!" I protested.

I could hear people whispering among each other. They were mainly doubt.

I was feeling really agitated and annoyed.

"You're all cowards if you just want to give. What was the point of signing up for the military then? I did not come this far just to fail miserably! I'm here to fight and that is what I'll do. Whose with me!?" I shouted.

"But it's useless. We'll all be wiped out before we can even reach to headquarters." Marco said.

I frowned and looked around.

No one was willing to respond with me.

Then, I saw Annie.

"Annie!" I ran towards my best friend.

"Glad to see you're alive Eri." Annie said.

Next to her was Reiner and Bertolt.

"I heard your speech Eri. I'm willing to fight with you." Reiner said.

"Thank you Reiner. I knew I can count on you." I said and smiled at him.

"Erhm...n-no problem." Reiner's face flushed and looked away.

"Ignore him." Annie said. "I'm ready to fight when you are."

I looked at Bertolt and he nodded his head in agreement.

"Thanks guys." I said with a smile.

"Eri!" Mikasa shouted my name.

My smiled turned to a frown.

 _Mikasa!_

 _She doesn't know about Eren yet!_

"M-Mikasa.." I stuttered.

"Have you seen Eren or Armin?" Mikasa asked.

"A-Armin is over there." I said, pointing where Armin was.

He was sitting alone. His facial expression was the same from when we found him.

"Where's Eren?" She asked.

I looked at the ground, avoiding eye contact with Mikasa.

 _Should I tell her?_

 _No..._

 _I can't._

 _I don't have the heart to tell her._

"Eren..he's..." I said but paused.

"He's what?" Mikasa looked at me confused.

I was still avoiding eye contact with her.

 _I can't tell her!_

"You might want to speak to Armin about Eren." Conny said.

I finally looked at Mikasa and she looked at me.

"Okay."

With that, Mikasa headed towards Armin to speak to him.

"Sorry Eri. I had a feeling you weren't able to talk to her." Conny said.

"Yeah. Thank Conny." I said with a faint smile.

"Eri. What's going on? Why can't you tell Mikasa where that guy is? Jean asked as he walked up to me.

Conny and I looked at each other.

"That's because.." I trailed off. "Eren. He's. He's..."

"EREN'S DEAD!" Armin shouted.

All attention was towards Armin and Mikasa.

"I'M SORRY MIKASA! EREN DIED TRYING TO SAVE ME AND HE GOT EATEN! EVERYONE IN MY SQUAD GOT EATEN!" Armin cried.

Mikasa was just standing there.

"No way." Jean said, surprised.

"Eren got eaten?" Marco asked.

"According to Armin, that's what happened." Sasha said.

"Yeah. We were roaming around the vanguard and we found Armin by himself." I said.

"How stupid. That idiot was all talk that he'd get revenge on the titans. Now, he's become titan meat." Jean said, annoyed.

"What's the plan Eri?" Mikasa said, walking up to me.

"Huh?" I looked at her.

"Are you going to fight and head to that building?" Mikasa asked, pointing at headquarters.

"Yeah. I am ready to go, but all these people aren't willing to fight along with me." I said.

Mikasa had an angry look on her face.

"You're all cowards!" Mikasa shouted.

Everybody looked at Mikasa.

"What's the point of standing here? We should fight those titans, save our comrades in there and refill our gas tanks! That's what we should do! There's already the signal for retreat so we do have a chance to get back to the inner walls. We must get to that building!" She yelled.

"Are you crazy Mikasa? We won't stand a chance." Conny said.

"That is why we must fight. If Eri and I are willing to go out there. Then you should too. If you're not going to be a part of this, then consider yourselves dead." Mikasa said.

With that, Mikasa used her device and made her way towards headquarters.

"Mikasa wait!" I called out to her.

Jean clenched his fist and looked around.

"You all hear her! We must fight! I'm not going to let a soldier fight alone! Let's go!" Jean yelled.

All the other people looked at each other with doubt at first but then had a look of determination.

Even Armin walked up to us.

"I'm not a coward anymore. I'm ready." Armin said.

"That's good to hear. Now, let's follow Mikasa." I said.

We all ran off and followed Mikasa.

* * *

We moved around as fast as we could to catch up to Mikasa.

I noticed that she was acting weird.

She was killing titans that were in her way a bit recklessly.

I also noticed that she was using too much gas from her maneuvering device as well.

"Armin!" I called out to him.

"Yeah Eri?" Armin asked as he caught up to my pace.

"Mikasa's acting really weird. She's also using too much gas. She'll eventually fall to the ground." I said.

"She's not handling the news of Eren really well. She's in disbelief." He said.

"Crap. She's going to die if this keeps us." I said, worriedly.

After Mikasa took a couple more kills, her device finally gave out and I see her crash land to the ground.

"Mikasa!" I yelled out.

"I got her! You go on ahead!" Armin shouted.

He shifted his direction towards Mikasa as we continued moving forward.

"Conny! Look after Mikasa and Armin!" I ordered him.

"Right!" Conny said as he changed direction towards the two.

"Damn! Who should take the lead!?" Jean shouted.

"You! You lead and we'll follow. I'll kill as many as I can. Let's go!" I said

Jean nodded his head and moved forward.

We killed as many titans as could along with saving as much gas as we can.

We're close to having no gas and there are too many titans swarming the area.

Eventually, we regrouped at a safe spot.

"There's too many of them!" Jean shouted.

"I'm not sure if we can even make it there in time." Marco said.

I looked at the distance between us and headquarters.

 _We still have a long way to go._

"Help me! Somebody please help!" Someone shouted.

We all looked down and noticed a guy running away from a titan chasing him.

He kept trying to press the buttons on his device.

"Oh no! He's out of gas!" I yelled.

We heard a couple more screams and looked around.

All the titans around us were grabbing people and eating them.

"Nooo!"

I looked back at the guy and the titan was holding him.

That titan brought the guy to it's mouth and took a big bite on his head.

I stood there as my jaws dropped at the horrific scene.

There was nothing we can do. All we can do is just stand there and witness our comrades be eaten alive.

"I think I'm going to vomit.." Marco said quietly.

"They're being eaten." I whispered.

"Guys. Now's our chance." Jean said.

"What?" I asked and looked at Jean.

"Those titans are distracted. Now's our chance to move forward and get to that building." Jean said.

He was right. There was a nice clear path now.

Marco and I looked at each other and nodded our heads.

We ran off and continue to make our way towards headquarters.

Kill after kill, titans just continued to swarm around the area.

As Jean continued to lead the way, a titan popped out and grabbed his leg.

"Ah!" Jean fell on the roof and was being dragged by the titan.

"Jean!" I called out to him.

I used the anchor on the titans arm and chopped off it's hand, thus freeing Jean.

Marco ran to his aid and I run up to the neck.

I pulled my swords back and slashed the nape as deep as I could.

As soon as I killed the titan I jumped back to the roof.

"Are you okay Jean?" Marco asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks Eri." Jean said as he smiled towards me.

"No problem. I'm really glad you're okay." I smiled back.

"Let's keep moving." Marco said.

We nodded our heads and ran off.

Headquarters was just a short distance away.

* * *

We killed more titans that were in our way and avoided the ones that could be avoidable.

"There! Through those windows!" Jean shouted.

We were right there just as titans started running to us.

We took a giant leap and maneuvered our way towards the window.

As soon as I came into contact with the window, I broke the glass and rolled.

I got up to see Jean and Marco next to me along with a few others that made it with us.

 _I can't believe we made it here!_

"How many of us made it?" Jean asked.

I looked around and realized that there was a significant loss of people compared to when we were at the rearguard.

I noticed a fort of tables and there were people hiding under there.

I ran towards them and ducked to their level.

"Are you guys our backup supply crew?" I asked them.

"Y-Yeah." Said a girl.

"We are." Said a guy.

Jean appeared next to me, grabbed the guy and dragged him out from the table.

"You asshole!" Jean shouted as he punched the guy.

"Jean!" I screamed as I grabbed his arm.

"You don't deserve to live! You bastards left us out there to die!" Jean yelled as he tried to throw another punch.

"Stop it Jean!" Marco shouted.

We grabbed Jean and pulled him away from the guy.

"What on earth is going on here!?" Reiner yelled as he, Annie and Bertolt came in through the window.

Sasha came in a few seconds later.

"I made it!" Sasha said in a happy tone.

"Eri, what's happening here?" Annie asked.

"I found our backup crew." I said, pointing at the people hiding under the tables.

Jean, still pissed off, let go of me and Marco and spit at the ground.

"I'm so annoyed right now." Jean said quietly.

"It's okay Jean. You can't blame them. They're scared. We're sacred too." I said as I grabbed his hand.

Jean looked at me, wrapped his hand around mine and took a deep breath.

"I'm fine Eri." He said.

Marco sighed in relief. "That's good."

Reiner walked up to the window to look outside.

"Everyone run!" He shouted.

We were caught off guard from what he said.

All of a sudden, the windows got smashed and something hit the wall.

The force of the wall caused us to fly back a couple of feet.

I got up and tried to run but I immediately fell to the ground.

"Ouch!" I felt a sharp pain on my leg.

I looked at my leg and saw a shard of glass wedged on it.

I could see blood leaking out from it.

 _Crap..._

"Eri!" Jean ran next to me.

"Jean! My leg!" I said, pointing at it.

He looked at my leg then at me.

He seemed very concerned and worried about me.

"It's okay. I'll take care of your leg later. We have to move." Jean said as he helped me up.

"Eri!" Annie called out to me.

"I'm fine Annie!" I shouted to her.

"Everyone! Through these doors!" Marco shouted towards all of us.

People were running through the doors to safety as I limped my way with Jean.

"My god.." Jean said quietly.

I turned to see what he was looking at.

I froze in my place and my eyes widened.

There was a large gaping hole on the wall and we see two titans staring at us.

They were looking at us with those hungry eyes of theirs.

"Jean! Jean! We got to move!" I shouted.

Jean was lost in a trance. He just kept staring at the titans. Not moving an inch or saying a single word.

Just then, I saw that one of the titans was putting it's hand through the hole, trying to grab us.

"Jean! We got to go!" I yelled.

Again, he wouldn't move.

 _I think he's frozen in fear!_

 _I got to do something!_

I took out my swords and stood in front of Jean.

"Stay away!" I yelled.

 _I'm ready to die if it means I could save Jean._

Just when the titan's hand was inches away, someone unusual happened.

I saw a giant fist smashing through the two titans, moving them away from the building.

There, I see a third titan, about 15-meters with long black hair standing there with a loud battle cry.

It then proceed to move towards other nearby titans and attacked them.

"W-What?" Jean said, finally snapping back to reality.

"Jean! We need to move!" I said as I grabbed his arm.

"W-What the hell was that?" Jean asked.

"I don't know." I said.

 _What did we just witness?_

After a couple of seconds, I see Conny, Armin and Mikasa coming in through the broken windows.

"Man! That was close! I'm out of gas!" Conny shouted.

"You guys made it!" I said with a smile.

"Yeah. It's all thanks to that titan." Armin said, pointing at the unique titan I saw.

"What's with that titan?" Jean asked.

"I don't know. The weird thing is that this titan has no interest in eating people. It only wants to attack other titans." Conny said.

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"It's true." Mikasa said. "That titan saved me when I was trapped."

"That's crazy." I said.

I looked back outside to see that titan fighting against five other titans.

"I strongly believe this titan is our key to escape from here." Mikasa said.

"How?" I asked.

"I have a plan. But first, we must head inside so I discuss about it with everyone else." Armin said.

We all nodded our heads and made our way through the doors.

I heard that unique titans battle cry once again.

 _What is going on?_

 _How can there be a titan that only fights other titans?_

 _Has my mother ever done research on this type?_

 _Even so, I hope that titan is truly on humanity's side._


	7. Trost District: Reclaiming Supply Room

Once we made it through the doors, Marco and Conny closed it.

Jean helped me sit on the floor as I laid my leg out.

I looked at my leg. The glass was still there.

It still hurts and I could feel my leg going numb.

"Let's take care of your wound Eri." Jean said.

"Are you alright Eri!?" A concerned Marco asked as he stood next to Jean.

"I'm okay I guess. Hurts like hell though" I said.

"We need to take that glass off your leg." Sasha said.

"Okay. I"ll use my sash to stop the bleeding." I said as I removed the sash around my waist.

"Eri, I'm going to take the shard of glass off. Try not to scream too loud okay?" Annie said as she kneel next to me.

I looked at everyone as I nodded my head.

"Let's get over with it." I said.

"Okay. On count to three." Annie said.

"One"

"Two"

"Three!"

Annie slowly pulled the shard of glass out of my leg and the pain was unbearable.

"Ah!" I screamed.

Jean grabbed my hand and I squeezed it really tight.

As soon as Annie pulled the shard out, Marco grabbed my sash and wrapped it around my leg.

He tied it tight and patted my shoulder.

"We're good Eri." Marco said.

Annie tossed the glass to the side and looked at me.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

I took a deep breath and exhaled.

"I'm fine. Thanks guys." I said, giving a weak smile.

Jean grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into a hug.

At first, I was surprised but then I couldn't help but to blush.

"I'm sorry Eri." He said.

"F-For what?" I asked.

"You're hurt. I wasn't able to protect you." He said.

I smiled at him.

 _He really does care about me._

 _How sweet._

"No need to blame yourself Jean. You were by my side through this and I'm thankful for that." I said, still smiling.

He looked at me and then sighed.

"As long as you're okay, then I'm okay." He said.

"Okay everyone." Armin spoke. "I have a plan to get us back to the inner wall."

With that, Armin and Mikasa explained about that special titan and how it is our only hope in retreating back safely.

At first everybody was looking at them in disbelief but then were convinced.

We were told that the fuel storage area on the bottom floor have seven small titans roaming around.

One of the soldiers told us that there is an elevator that could take us to the bottom floor.

Armin was deep in thought and finally spoke.

"Do we have any artillery?" Armin asked.

"Yes we do. We have a box of shotguns here." Said a soldier.

He walked up to the corner of the room and pulled out a large box.

Reiner and Bertolt opened the box and there were a good amount of shotguns inside.

"Good. I suggest we all circle around the elevator. We will use these shotguns to use against the titans." Armin said.

"How will we kill them though? They will just regenerate their wounds." I said.

"Since we're told that there are seven titans down there, seven of us would hide on the ceiling ledges and kill the titans with their blades." Armin said.

"So, those of us with the shotguns are just distractions right?" Marco asked.

"Indeed. I believe they will all approach us together. If timed correctly, we will all shoot their eyes meanwhile the others will kill them." Armin said.

"I like your plan." I said.

 _It was a brilliant idea!_

"So, whose the seven to do the kill?" Jean asked.

"I suggest people from our top ranking class. Eri, I think it's best if you stay in the circle because of your injury." Armin said.

At first, I wanted to protest but then I stayed silent.

"Okay." I said.

"Mikasa, Sasha, Conny, Annie, Reiner, Jean and Bertolt. Can the seven of you do it?"

They all nodded their heads.

"Good. Everyone else, grab and gun and stand in a circle in the elevator." Marco said.

All the other soldiers picked up a gun and went in the elevator.

We raised our guns up, eyes on the foresight.

"When we get down there, take aim on their eyes. We fire on my cue!" Marco said.

With that someone pressed the button and our elevator was taken to the bottom floor.

* * *

Our elevator went down slowly.

It felt like hours when we finally reach the bottom level.

Our guns were still pointed outward.

We see the titans walking around the room.

I see my friends standing against the ceiling ledges, waiting for our signal.

Pretty soon, they finally noticed us and slowly made their way around us.

Each titan was standing around us in a circle.

 _Exactly how Armin predicted!_

A titan stood right at my line of sight.

I could feel sweat trickling down my cheek.

My finger was barely touching the trigger.

It was silent for a long minute.

The titans kept staring at us.

Probably confused if they ever think.

Just when a titan's eye was right at the barrel of my gun, I heard Marco shout.

"FIRE!" He screamed.

With that, everyone pressed the trigger and our shotgun bullets went through the titan's eyes.

All the titans covered their eyes, waiting for their wounds to regenerate.

"Now!" Armin shouted.

The others jumped down from the ceiling and took their kills on the nape of the necks.

One by one, I watched each titan fall to their deaths except two.

The ones Conny and Sasha hit were will alive.

"Conny's and Sasha's are still there!" Marco shouted.

I saw Mikasa heading towards Conny's titan meanwhile Sasha's titan was ready to grab her.

"No! Sasha!" I yelled.

Without thinking, I jumped off the elevator and landed onto the titans shoulder.

I swung my blade and slashed a deeper cute on the nape.

The titan finally died from its wound and I jumped off its shoulder.

As soon as I landed on the ground, my leg let out a sharp pain and I fell to the ground.

"Gah!" I laid on the ground and held my hand against my leg.

"Eri!" Jean called out to me.

He ran by my side and helped me up.

"Thanks Jean." I said.

"What the hell were you thinking you idiot!" He yelled. "You could've been killed!"

I lowered my head and gripped onto my blade.

"I'm sorry Jean. I just wanted to save my friend." I said quietly.

He looked at me and then looked away.

"Whatever." He said and walked away.

I feel really bad.

I must've really upset him.

"Don't worry about it Eri." Marco said.

"I didn't mean to upset him though." I said.

"It's not your fault. He's just really worried about you ever since we grouped together at the rearguard." He said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. You mean a lot to him" Marco smiled. "I know he means a lot to you too."

I could feel my face getting red.

"Marco!" I said his name and lightly punched him.

"Eriii!" Sasha screamed as she ran up to me and hugged me.

"S-Sasha." I said, trying to catch my breath from the hug.

"Thank you for saving me! I'm sorry I couldn't kill it properly!" She cried.

I patted Sasha's head and let go of her.

"Don't thank me. I just wanted to make sure that you were safe." I said and smiled.

All the others cheered at the fact that we got the fuel storage room back.

I'm happy as well.

We can finally refill our gas tanks.

* * *

We all took our time replenishing our fuel and had a short rest.

Marco, Jean and I sat next to each other in a circle.

We were cleaning our blades in silence.

I looked at Jean and he still looked agitated but deep in thought at the same time.

 _I should apologize._

 _It is my fault though._

"Jean." I finally spoke.

He stopped cleaning and looked at me.

"I-I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have been reckless. It's my fault that I made you really worried." I said.

"It's not your fault." Jean said.

I looked at him and he was giving me a small smile.

"Really?" I questioned.

"Yeah. It's my fault." He said.

"Why?" I asked.

His smile changed to a frown.

"I'm not fit to be a leader." He said quietly.

"Why do you think that?" Marco asked.

"I gave out orders to get here. Many people died because they want to refill their tanks. Plus, Eri got hurt. I wasn't able to protect her." Jean said, looking at Marco.

"Well, it is true that you're not fit to be a leader." Marco said bluntly.

I looked at him, eyes wide. "M-Marco..."

"But, you along with Eri and Mikasa did help motivate all those people to move on and not quit." Marco added.

I looked at Marco and smiled.

"He's right Jean. Even though a significant amount of people died, they helped ensuring that we got here safely. If it wasn't for you taking the lead, we probably would've been titan food by now." I said.

I placed my hand on top of his.

I could tell I was blushing but I didn't care. I want to make Jean feel better.

We gazed at each other's eyes for a minute and then Jean finally smiled.

"Thank you." He said.

He intertwined his fingers with mine.

 _This is something I do not want to lose._

 _This friendship between the three of us._

 _This closeness I have with Jean._

 _Us._

"I believe we are done filling up our gas tanks. Now is the time to escape." Armin said.

"The special titan is attracting attention with the other titans outside. This can give us the chance to make our way back to the inner wall." Mikasa said.

"We must head back with caution as well. There could be some titans on our way. So kill only if necessary." Armin added.

* * *

Everyone headed to the elevator and we made our way back to the top.

We all jumped through the gigantic hole onto the rooftops.

Now that my gas tanks are filled up, I don't have to worry about limping my way around.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Yeah." Marco said.

"Ready." Jean added.

We were about to make our way back until we heard Armin shout at Mikasa.

"Mikasa! We're leaving!" He shouted.

Mikasa was standing at a building on the opposite direction.

She was looking at something.

Those of us who stayed behind headed towards Mikasa.

It was only me, Jean, Marco, Armin, Sasha, Conny, Annie, Reiner and Bertolt that stayed behind and followed Mikasa.

We all around Mikasa to see what she was staring at.

"That titan..." Mikasa said quietly as she pointed at the ground.

That black haired titan that saved us earlier was on the ground, flesh being eaten by other titans.

My eyes widened at the horror.

"That thing's being eaten." Reiner said.

"H-How is that possible?" I asked.

 _Has there ever been research on titans eating each other?_

 _How cannibalistic..._

The titans flesh was decomposing and it was emitting some sort of smoke.

Something was off about this titan.

As we all looked closer, we noticed something at the nape of the titans neck.

"My God..." Armin said.

To my surprise, I see a body.

Not just any body.

"Eren!?" I said, surprised and confused.

Mikasa didn't hesitate.

She killed the titans that were eating and ran next to Eren's body.

She touched his body, embraced him and started crying.

Armin went up to her and started tearing up.

Pretty soon, we all ran up to them.

I slowly approached Ere and touched his body.

 _It's warm._

 _If he was dead, he'd be cold._

 _But he's warm._

 _Eren's alive?_

"Eren's warm. He's actually..." I trailed off.

"Alive." Jean finished my sentence.

"If he just came out from that titan, does that mean Eren was that unique titan the whole time?" Marco questioned.

We all looked at him.

Marco was right.

"Was all this really you Eren?" I whispered to myself.


	8. Trost District: Commander Pixis

_As we all continued to stand there, shocked about Eren's status, some soldiers from the response team showed up._

 _They ordered us to retreat back to the city immediately._

 _We were sworn to secrecy to not tell anyone on what we saw about Eren._

 _It was only the ten of us that knew about Eren's so called secret._

 _Some of the soldiers took Armin, Mikasa and Eren with them somewhere while the rest of us followed another guy back to the inner wall._

Back at the city, we all sat around, thinking about everything we witnessed.

Someone from the medics crew tended to my wound and bandaged up my leg.

"What do you think is going to happen to them?" I asked.

"I don't know. It's probably not going to be pretty." Jean said.

I had so many questioned on my mind.

 _How is Eren alive?_

 _Was he actually that titan?_

 _How was he able to control that titan?_

 _How did he BECOME a titan?_

If only I could know if my mother researched on something like this.

"Oh! Thank goodness you guys are alive!" Krista yelled as she ran towards us.

Ymir joined her and looked at each of us.

"The hell happened to all of you? You all look as if you've seen a ghost or something." Ymir said.

"You could say something like that." Conny said.

"Did you all just come back from the supply headquarters?" Krista asked.

"Yeah." Marco said.

I looked at Jean and noticed that something was bothering him.

"What's wrong Jean?" I asked him.

"I just don't get it." He said. "How is that idiot alive? Better yet, how the hell did he pop out of that titans body?"

"We all have those questions in mind Jean. I just wonder what the police is going to do with him." I said.

 _They did take him, Armin and Mikasa away from us._

I looked at Annie and she was spacing out.

"Hey Annie." I called out to her as I walked towards her.

"How's your leg?" She asked.

"It's better. They bandaged it up. Don't really feel pain anymore." I said and smiled.

"That's good." She said.

She stared off again. It seems as if something on was her mind.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, looking at her.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I was just thinking about something." She said.

"Oh. Alright." I said.

I pulled out my locket and clenched on it.

 _Mother. I wish you were here._

* * *

After a couple minutes of silence, a loud noise was heard by inner wall.

We all looked around to see what was happening.

"What's going on!?" Reiner shouted.

"There's a huge amount of smoke coming from over there!" Marco shouted.

"Isn't that where they hold their cannons?" I asked.

"That's where they took Mikasa, Eren and Armin!" Sasha yelled.

"We need go check it out." Jean said.

Without any hesitation, we all made our way towards the wall.

We stood on top of a building and looked ahead.

There was a ring of Military Police standing around and cannons ready to be fired.

In front of them, just a few hundred feet, was half of a titan.

My eyes widened in shock.

It wasn't fully formed.

This titan only had an arm sticking out and i see Mikasa and Armin standing next to it.

"Just what on earth is going on?" Reiner questioned.

"That titan, is that the idiot?" Jean asked.

"I think it is Eren." I said.

I gripped onto my locket again.

 _This is seriously something that needs to be researched on._

There was smoke coming out from the titans body.

I noticed the Police and Garrison troops aiming their weapons towards my friends.

 _Is that what the noise was earlier!?_

 _They tried to shoot them!?_

"No!" I yelled. "They can't shoot them!"

"You are considered as traitors to humanity!" Yelled the Military captain. "We do not associate with monsters like you!"

"Monsters?" Marco questioned.

"You monsters are what caused this! Therefore, you shall be executed!" The Captain yelled.

 _Why are they being accused of this!?_

 _They don't have the right to jump to conclusions!_

"LISTEN TO US!" I heard Armin yelled. "EREN'S TITAN POWERS CAN BE USEFUL! HE CAN HELP US PLUG THE HOLE IN TROST DISTRICT! HE CAN BE USEFUL IN SAVING HUMANITY!"

"Does he have a plan?" Jean asked.

"Probably." I answered quietly.

"DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!? WE'RE NOT TRAITORS! EREN AS A TITAN SAVED US FROM THE OTHER TITANS!" Armin continued shouting.

We all looked at the Police Captain.

He looked unfazed. Instead, he slowly raised his arm.

"I can't just stand here and watch!" I yelled.

I shot my anchors and dashed my way towards them.

I could hear people calling out to me but I ignored them.

 _My friends do not deserve to die!_

 _No one deserves to die over a stupid reason!_

"Men! Fir-"

I interrupted his command and stood in between the police and my friends.

"Stop!" I yelled.

"What!? Who do you think you are!?" He yelled.

"My name is Eri Sotomayo and I am telling you to stop!" I shouted. "My friends did nothing wrong and you have no right to kill them!"

The Captain gave an ugly smirk, walked up to me and looked at me.

"Move out of the way." He said.

I continue to stand there and held my arms out.

"No. I dare you to shoot me." I said, glaring at him.

He glared at me and then walked back to his spot.

"Fine by me. You'll die as a traitor too. Shoot them." He said.

My eyes widened and I used my arms to shield myself.

Just when I thought someone pulled the trigger, I heard someone spoke.

"That's enough Captain!" Someone shouted.

Everyone lowered their weapons and looked at a short bald man.

"C-Commander Pixis!" The Captain said as she saluted towards Pixis.

I heard of of Commander Pixis before. He's the highest ranking commander within the southern territory of Wall Rose.

"Don't you see how brave that young boy is? He tried to convince you to not shoot. Even this young lady here is willing to risk her life for her friends. Yet, you still chose to shoot them." said Commander Pixis.

We exchanged glances.

 _Thank God this commander showed up. We really would've died._

With that, I turned around and ran towards my friends.

"Are you guys okay!?" I asked.

"Yeah." Eren said, he had weird marks around his eyes.

I looked at him.

 _He's really alive._

"Do you remember anything Eren?" I asked him.

At first, Eren looked at me confused but then answered.

"I still don't know how I got here. As a matter of fact, I don't know how this happened."

"It's okay. I'm happy to see you alive and well. Although I still don't believe it." I said with a faint smile.

"Thank you Eri." Armin said.

"Eh? For what?" I asked.

"For trying to save us." Mikasa said. "I'm thankful for you."

"Don't worry about it guys." I said. "I couldn't stand how disrespectful that Captain was being. He had no right to make that decision."

"Excuse me, all of you down there." Commander Pixis called out to us.

We all looked at him and saluted.

"I want you all to come with me. Except you." He said, pointing at me. "I want you to head back and await for further orders."

"Yes sir!" I saluted once again and headed back to where Jean and the others were.

"That was stupid of you Eri." Annie said.

"Huh? For what?" I asked.

"You could've really died over there." Reiner said. "They're the type of people that doesn't care."

"But they were threatening my friends. I didn't want them to get killed over something stupid." I said with a frown.

"You need to stop being so stubborn." Jean said as he pulled my hair.

"Hey!" I shouted.

"At least the others are safe now." Marco said.

"Come on. Let's head back." Conny said.

With that, we headed back to our original spots and waited.

* * *

After about an hour, a bell was rung and everyone was ordered to form an assembly line by the inner wall.

Once we did so, Commander Pixis stood on top of the wall.

"MY NAME IS COMMANDER PIXIS AND I AM HERE TO DISCUSS ABOUT A STRATEGY TO TAKE BACK TROST DISTRICT!" Pixis yelled.

"TODAY, TITANS HAS BROKEN DOWN WALL ROSE AND TERRORIZED HUMANKIND. IT MAY SEEM LIKE WE'RE LOSING BUT WE HAVE A WAY TO WIN. WE DISCOVERED A SECRET WEAPON AND WITH THAT, OUR MAIN OBJECTIVE IS TO SEAL THAT HOLE AND RECLAIM TROST DISTRICT!"

People around us were looking and each other and started complaining.

Many of them mentioned how they didn't want to go back to that hell hole.

Other's said that they wish to live and doesn't want to end up as titan food.

"Is this guy serious?" Conny asked.

"I think he is." I said.

"IN ORDER TO SEAL THE HOLE, WE HAVE EREN JAEGER! HE IS OUR SECRET WEAPON TO VICTORY!" Pixis yelled.

Eren walked up and stood next to Commander Pixis.

"EREN HAS THE ABILITY TO TURN INTO A TITAN. HE IS THE ONLY ONE CAPABLE OF SEALING THAT HOLE! EVERYONE ELSE'S OBJECTIVES ARE TO PROTECT EREN FROM OTHER TITANS!" Pixis yelled. "IF YOU'RE NOT MAN ENOUGH TO TAKE THIS CHALLENGE, THEN LEAVE NOW AND YOU WILL NOT BE PENALIZED."

With that, a lot of people started walking away, claiming that they all quit as a soldier.

I looked at Sasha and she was shaking in fear.

"Jean." I said and looked at him.

"Yeah Eri?" He looked back at me.

"I'm worried." I said.

"About what?" He asked

"I'm worried that this plan won't work." I answered.

"Don't worry Eri. We're left depending on that idiot to help us. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm willing to rely on this guy." Jean said.

I looked at Jean, surprised at his words.

"We'll win for sure." Jean said as he looked at me.

"Okay." I said quietly.

 _But I feel like something bad will happen._

 _It's a feeling that I can't shake off._


	9. Trost District: Realization and Victory

We stood there and watched as many people walked away from Commander Pixis' plan.

It felt as if 50% of soldiers gave up to be with their families rather stay behind and fight.

I looked back at Commander Pixis as he eyed the area.

"For the many of you that stayed, I thank you for your bravery." He projected his voice. "

Everyone who were still in the assembly saluted towards Pixis.

We all picked up our equipment and headed towards the inner gate of Wall Rose.

We were told that Eren, along with Mikasa and the Garrison Elite troops are to obtain a boulder that could plug up the hole in the middle of the district.

The rest of us were ordered to the far corner area of Trost District as a source of distraction to allow Eren's group to get the boulder.

If a titan escapes from the corner, we have the right to kill it. If the plan goes bad, we must go separate ways to defend the district.

With that, I was grouped up with Jean, Armin, Annie and Conny.

"Be careful everyone." Armin said.

"Right. Distractions only. Kill only if necessary." I said, giving a thumbs up to everyone.

"Let's go." Annie said.

We all entered Trost District and taunted the titans.

Pretty soon, we had a few of them following us while we ran towards the far corner of the district.

From a far, I could see Eren, Mikasa and the Elite troops moving ahead.

 _Everything seems to be going according to plan so far._ I thought.

We all regrouped along the corner of the inner wall and stood above to continue taunting the titans.

Some people even hung on ropes to tease the titans as well, to give them as much distractions as possible.

Unfortunately, doing so actually caused the titans to bite a few people's legs or actually eat them whole.

 _The sacrifices we're making just to gain this victory..._

After another couple minutes of distractions, we all noticed a red smoke flare appearing across the district.

"Red smoke?" I questioned.

"No. Something's wrong." Armin said.

"Did Eren and the Elite troops failed!?" Conny asked.

"Not sure. Something must've happened." Jean said.

"Something's not right with Eren!" Armin shouted.

He hopped off the wall and geared his way towards the middle of Trost District, possible where Eren and the others are.

"Armin! No! It's suicide if you go alone!" I yelled out to him.

I was just about to chase after Armin until Annie grabbed my arm.

"Eri. Don't." She said.

"But he's all alone!" I shouted.

"Leave it Eri! It's his friend. Armin probably knows what he's doing." Jean said.

Pretty soon, all the titans we were supposed to distract finally ignored us and went their separate ways deep into the district.

"Shoot! Their leaving us!" Conny yelled.

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"We go on our own." Annie said. "Defend the district."

"That's the best option. Too many of those titans are leaving here." Jean said.

"Alright." I said. "Be careful everyone."

"You too Eri." Jean said.

With that, we all hopped out from the wall and ran separate ways.

* * *

I was running around different parts of the district to kill as many titans as I could.

As I kept moving around, I witnessed many people getting eaten alive.

I tried my best to save them but I always ended up getting there too late.

 _It truly is a horror to be a part of this._

"Eri!" I heard someone call my name.

I turned around to see Marco running towards me.

"Marco! I'm so glad to see you." I said, smiling at my friend.

"Where were you coming from?" He asked.

"I had to split up from everyone because the titans were moving away from the corner. I do plan on heading deeper in the district to meetup with Eren's group." I said.

"Okay. Just letting you know, don't head to the West area. There's too many titans there. I've been ordered to go east so you can head there if anything happens." He said.

"Thanks. I'll keep a mental note of that." I said.

"Alright. Please be careful Eri." He said with a faint smile. "Especially for Jean's sake."

"I will." I smiled me. "You be careful too."

"Don't worry about me. I'm always careful." He said.

Marco placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Jean and I will find you once this is over." I said.

"I'll do the same. I promise we'll hangout before we go our separate ways." He said.

 _For some strange reason, my stomach was turning knots._

 _It felt as if something really bad is going to happen._

 _But I don't know what it is._

With that, I hugged Marco.

"Stay safe Marco. For mine and Jean's sake as well." I said.

"I will." He said.

I let go of him and we saluted towards each other.

After that, we went our separate ways.

* * *

I continued to kill more titans and maneuvered my way around the district.

It's been a while since I departed from Marco and I wasn't able to find Eren's group or any sign of my friends.

Pretty soon, I heard some screaming at a distance.

I immediately ran where the screaming came from.

There, I found a titan running around, chasing someone.

As I looked closer, I noticed it was chasing after Conny.

"Crap!" He shouted.

"Conny!" I called out to him.

I jumped down to the ground and ran after the titan.

I pressed the buttons for the anchors to attach to the titans back.

I pressed the button again and reeled myself onto the titans neck.

With a huge swing, I swung my blades and slashed the nape of the neck.

After that, I jumped next to Conny and grabbed his hand.

I could see two more titans making their way towards us.

"Run!" I yelled.

So we both ran and maneuvered our way along the roofs.

As we were roof hoping, I noticed a hand reaching towards Conny.

"Conny! Move!" I screamed.

I darted forward and pushed Conny out of the way.

Instead of grabbing Conny, I got grabbed instead.

The titan held me in a tight grip, preventing me from escaping.

"L-Let go!" I shouted.

"No! Eri!" Conny shouted.

I tried to squirm my body around for freedom but it was no use.

I looked at the titan and it was looking at me with those menacing, hungry eyes.

 _This is it._

 _I'm really going to get eaten._

 _I won't be able to become an Elite soldier like my father or a researcher like my mother._

 _I'll never get my chance in admitting my feelings towards Jean or hangout with Marco._

 _This is the end of my life..._

The titan still held onto me and started to slowly bring me to its mouth.

It's breath was terrible.

I felt like vomiting from the stench.

"Eri!" I could hear Conny scream.

I closed my eyes and accepted defeat.

 _Goodbye Jean._ I thought as my final words.

 _*Swash*_

That was the noise I heard.

With my eyes still closed, I was expecting gigantic teeth biting onto me.

But I felt nothing.

Instead, I felt the titans grip loosening and I was falling to the ground.

I opened my eyes to see myself falling down at a fast speed.

With my quick reaction, I shot the hooks and reeled myself back to the rooftop.

Once I landed, I dropped to my knees to think about what just happened.

"Eri!" I heard Annie shout.

She appeared in front of me and kneel to my level.

Conny showed up behind her.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"D-Did you save me Annie?" I asked.

"Yeah." She said.

I leapt up and hugged her.

"Thank you Annie! Thank you for saving my life!" I shouted, holding back the tears in my eyes.

I don't know how Annie is reacting but pretty soon, she hugged back lightly.

"It's no problem." She said quietly.

"Eri!" I heard Jean call my name from behind.

I let go of Annie and turned around.

Jean was standing there with an insane look of fear in his eyes.

 _Did Jean witness the whole thing?_

 _Did he almost watched me get eaten?_

"Jean..." I said his name quietly.

His facial expression changed to anger.

"What do hell do you think you're doing!? You almost got yourself killed!" He yelled.

I was shocked to see him yelling at me.

"I-I saw that titan's hand reaching for Conny! I had to save him!" I yelled back.

"That doesn't mean you should be reckless and gotten yourself grabbed!" He yelled.

 _I stayed quiet._

 _All I could do was stare at Jean._

 _I realized that death can happen any moment, anywhere._

 _Jean was the only person I thought about when I thought I was going to die._

 _I realized that all I want to do is just to be with Jean, along with my other desires._

 _I should stop being stubborn and making him worried about me._

 _Marco did say that I need to stay safe for Jean's sake._

 _Why is it that I now realized my feelings for Jean are even stronger than before?_

 _I am actually in love with Jean._

Without saying another word, I ran towards Jean and hugged him.

I let go of the tears that I've been holding back.

All I could do was hug him tight and cry.

"I-I'm really sorry Jean. I-I was really scared when that titan got me. I really thought I was was going to die!" I cried out.

I could feel Jean's strong grip hugging around me.

"When I saw you in the hands of that titan. I thought I lost you Eri. I thought about the three of us. You, me and Marco." Jean said.

"I'm sorry for making you worry Jean. I promise to be more careful. Please don't be mad at me." I said.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm just really relieved that Annie saved you." He said.

I let go of Jean and looked at him.

He used his thumb and wiped the tears away.

"Now, no more crying. We need to continue defending Trost District. This time, you stay with me okay?" Jean said.

I stopped my sobbing and nodded my head.

"Uhm. Eri." Conny walked up to me. "Thank you. For saving me. You're always there for me and Sasha. I am forever in your debt."

Conny bowed towards me.

"O-Oh! You don't need to bow down. I'm just doing whatever I can to protect my friends. I don't want to see anyone I care about get hurt or worse, die." I said.

I gave a faint smile towards Conny to not make him feel bad.

"Still. Thank you for everything Eri. You really are a great friend." He said.

"It's no problem." I said.

"You guys. Look." Annie said.

She was pointing up ahead, where the hole was.

There, we can see the same black haired titan, or Eren's titan form, lifting a giant boulder.

He was making his way towards the wall.

"E-Eren's doing it. He's actually bringing that boulder to the wall..." Conny said.

"I still can't believe...that titan is Eren." I said quietly.

I was truly amazed to see that Eren has the power to become a titan.

 _This is something that must be researched in order for humanity to understand what 'titans' really are._

As soon as Titan Eren reached the wall, he dropped the boulder down and blocked the hole.

Now, titans can no longer get through.

"H-He did it!" Jean shouted.

"W-We won!" Conny shouted in joy. "We won back Trost District and saved Wall Rose!"

I couldn't help but to smile.

 _Today, humanity won the battle over Trost District._

"We should go. We've just been ordered to kill the remaining titans in the district." Annie said.

"Okay. Let's do it." I said.

With that, we all did our best in eliminating the remaining titans.


	10. Marco Bott

We spent an entire day wiping out the remaining titans within Trost District.

I know we were supposed to have a ceremony in choosing our classes. Of course that had to be delayed because of the titan invasion. We were told that the ceremony will be held once everything was over.

We made our way back to the city where we were told the outcome from the battle.

They estimated that nearly a thousand people are either dead, injured or missing in action.

It's a pretty large sum for this plan to be called a 'success'.

The medics crew ordered those of us the survived the battle to roam around the district to retrieve corpses so that we could have a proper burial for everyone.

Everyone lined up to grab a mouth guard and a pair of gloves. This was so we don't catch any diseases that could be airborne.

Once I grabbed my pair, I walked up to Jean and put the mouth guard on.

 _Come to think of it, I haven't seen Marco ever since we went separate ways._

"Jean." I called out to him.

"Yeah?" He looked at me.

"Have you seen Marco at all?" I asked.

"No. Haven't seen him since Commander Pixis mentioned his plan." He said.

"Oh." I said sadly.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"I promised Marco that we would look for him once the battle was over. Do you think we'll be able to find him?" I asked.

"Yeah. We will." He said. "Marco's a strong guy. If anything, he'll be looking for us as well. Who knows, we might bump into him around the district."

"I guess you're right." I said.

 _I still have a bad feeling in my gut._

 _Something is really wrong..._

 _It's frustrating that I don't know what it is._

"Come on Eri. Let's go count the dead bodies." He said.

"Right." I said quietly.

* * *

We walked through the gate and started walking around the district.

There were bodies piling around.

Many of them were half eaten while others were just pieces of body parts.

It was horrific to see this.

 _How on earth does my parents live on with this sight?_ I thought to myself.

As we continued to walk around, we came upon a pile of dead bodies.

This pile of corpses had titan saliva all over them.

It was as if they were regurgitated from a titan before it's death.

"This is awful" I heard someone said.

It was Sasha. She was standing by the corpses with her eyes wide.

As I looked at the faces of each corpse, I noticed one familiar face.

"Mina..." I said her name quietly.

 _This is seriously something we can never get used to._

I looked at Jean and he was staying quiet.

He just continued walking around as I followed.

The body count kept increasing as we reported to the Nurses.

We were then ordered to head East of Trost District to continue our counting.

 _East.._

 _That's where Marco was headed to when we bumped into each other._

 _I wonder if he's there..._

It was seriously depressing to see all these dead bodies around.

No matter which direction we went to, the body counts were endless.

I looked at Jean and noticed that he was just standing there.

"Jean?" I called out to him. "Is everything okay?"

He didn't respond. I walked up to him and looked at his face.

His eyes were really wide as if he was shocked about something.

Soon, he walked past me and kneel next to a body up ahead.

I was confused at Jean's behavior.

 _What did he see?_

"Eri. Come over here." Jean said.

"What is it?" I asked nervously.

 _That gut wrenching feeling came back._

 _This is the bad feeling I was having._

 _What is it that I'm about to see?_

As I slowly approached Jean, I finally got to see what it was Jean was staring at the whole time.

I froze at the sight.

It was a half eaten body, vertically.

With the other half still there, you can absolutely tell who it was.

 _Marco Bott._

I fell to my knees.

 _That's Marco._

 _Marcos body right in front of us._

 _Marcos dead._

 _How?_

 _HOW!?_

"M-Marco..." I stuttered his name.

Tears started streaming my eyes.

"Marco.." I said his name again.

"MARCO!" I yelled.

I couldn't move my legs.

I crawled towards his body, kneeling next to Jean.

My heart sank at the sight of Marco.

 _This was what I was feeling since yesterday._

I could feel pain in my chest.

"Marco. How did this happen?" Jean asked quietly.

"Waaah!" I started crying out loud. "MARCO!"

I lightly shook his body.

"How did this happen Marco!? What happened!?" I yelled.

 _I just saw Marco yesterday._

 _We made a promise that the three of us would be together after all of this._

 _Now, he's gone._

 _Marco's gone._

"Eri..." Jean looked at me.

I was a mess.

I was crying uncontrollably.

 _I thought I could handle seeing the sight of dead bodies._

 _I thought I could be brave and accept the fact that friends will be lost._

 _I was wrong._

 _Seeing Marco made me lose it._

"I can't take it anymore!" I shouted. "Why do the people we care about die! Why are we losing precious friends!?"

I continued crying.

"Marco! You promised! You promised that the three of us would finally be able to hangout together!" I cried and shouted.

Jean was just sitting there, letting me scream it all out.

"Can you just tell us how this happened to you?" I said.

I lowered my head and had my hands to my face.

The sobbing wouldn't stop.

 _I lost one of my best friend. That is something I'll NEVER forget._

Jean was silent the entire time.

I don't know how he's handling it but I know it's worse than me.

Marco is Jean's best friend. His one true friend out of everyone else.

"Eri. We need to carry his body with the others." Jean finally spoke.

I tried wiping away the tears but they kept streaming down my face.

 _I'm still unable to accept this._

"O-Okay." I said.

With that, Jean and I carefully carried Marco's corpse to the field of bodies.

* * *

As we kept carrying Marco's body, I noticed something falling out from his pocket.

"Jean. Stop." I said.

"What is it Eri?" He asked.

"Something fell from his pocket." I said, using my head to point at the ground.

We gently placed Marco onto the ground as Jean picked up the item.

It was a folded piece of paper.

He opened it and read it quietly.

Once he was done, he re-fold it and placed it in his breast pocket.

"What was in that paper?" I asked.

"Something he wrote." Jean said.

"C-Can I read it?" I asked.

"Not now. Later." Jean said.

He had no emotions on his face.

 _He must be too depressed to say or do anything._

I didn't pester him about the paper.

We lifted Marco's body and continued to make our way back to everyone else.

Once the dead bodies were gathered up, a first was lit and the bodies were burned to ashes.

It was night time.

The moon was shining down as the fire made a bright light around us.

Jean and I sat next to each other, a couple feet away from the burning bodies.

We were watching Marco's body being burned.

 _Goodbye Marco._ I said in my head.

I heard many footsteps behind us and I turned around.

It was all my other friends; Annie, Reiner, Bertolt, Ymir, Krista, Conny, Sasha, Armin and Mikasa.

Eren was missing among the group.

They all looked at me concerned.

They must've seen how red my eyes were.

"Is everything okay Eri?" Armin asked.

"No." I said quietly.

"Did something happen?" Conny asked.

I looked at Jean and he remained silent.

"You say it." He said.

Jean was really not in the mood to talk.

I looked back at my friends.

I took a deep breath and explained to them about the discovery of Marco's body.

Everyone was shocked at the news.

"No way..." Armin said quietly.

"That's impossible." Conny said.

"That's awful." Sasha said, holding back the tears.

"How terrible." Krista said, wiping a tear from her eye.

The others stayed quiet.

I looked at Annie.

Her face expression was something I've never seen.

"I'm sorry Eri." Annie spoke.

"Annie..." Bertolt said her name quietly.

"I truly am sorry about your loss." She continued speaking.

Reiner was giving her a look but she ignored him.

"I know how much he means to you. Therefore, I'm really sorry."

With that, Annie walked up to me and gave me a hug.

We were all surprised to see her do that.

It was an action I've never expected her to do.

"A-Annie..." I said her name, still surprised.

When she let go of me, she looked as if she had a sense of guilt in her.

"I'll see you around." She said and walked away.

Reiner and Bertolt looked at me and then followed Annie.

 _What was that all about?_ I asked myself. _Something is up with Annie's behavior._

"Eri." Jean said my name.

I turned to look at him.

"I'm going to take a walk." He said.

With that, Jean got up and walked away.

I couldn't say anything. I just stood there and watched him walk away.

"I can't imagine how upset he is right now." Conny said sadly.

"Yeah. Those two were really close." I added.

"Eri. You should talk to him." Mikasa said.

"Huh? W-What can I do? We both lost our best friend." I said, looking down at the ground.

"Just stay by his side. I'm sure he'll only speak to you." Sasha said.

"Yeah. Go and talk to him lover girl." Ymir said.

With that, Ymir gave me a light push as I started chasing after Jean.

"Jean! Wait!" I called out to him.

He just kept walking ahead.

I tried my best to follow Jean.

He was walking fast throughout the district and stopped by a nearby water fountain.

Since it was night time, the water fountain area was pretty empty.

"Jean." I said his name and walked in front of him.

He was staring at the water fountain.

"Jean. I know you're suffering the most." I said.

I could feel myself tearing up.

"You've been quiet ever since you read that paper. What's going on?" I asked. "What was in that paper?"

Jean looked away from the water fountain and then stared at me.

He reached in his breast pocket and handed me the paper.

"Read it." He said.

I looked at him and then at the paper.

I slowly reached for the paper and grabbed it.

I unfolded the paper and started reading.

* * *

 _Dear Eri,_

 _I wrote this letter in case something ever happened to me._

 _I just pray that this letter gets to either you or Jean._

 _There was something really important I wanted to tell you during our years of training._

 ** _I love you._**

 _I was in love with you since our first week at the military._

 _I know those feelings could never be returned because you were in love with Jean._

 _Same thing goes for Jean._

 _Jean always talks about you whenever we were in our rooms._

 _He admitted to me that he really likes you two nights before our graduation._

 _From that, I knew that the two of you were meant to be and I never had a chance._

 _So, I decided to keep my feelings for you a secret._

 _I was always rooting for the two of you._

 _I did plan on confessing on the day of our ceremony, the day we would separate from each other._

 _The moment we were under attack and were ordered to defend Trost District, I took the time to write this letter._

 _If I managed to survive the battle, I would tear this letter apart and go back to our daily lives._

 _Overall, Eri, I mainly wrote this letter for you to know how I've been truly feeling all these years._

 _So I hope Jean would forgive me._

 _All I want is just the three of us to remain friends._

 _I want to be there when you and Jean finally confess your feelings for each other._

 _I want you and Jean to know that I'll always be there for you two no matter what._

 _I'm rooting for you two._

 _ **Marco Bott.**_

* * *

Tears were streaming down my face.

My hands started shaking.

 _Marco could've only written this letter if he had doubt about living._

 _Marco..._

 _I'm so sorry._

"I-I didn't know..." I said quietly.

"Neither did I." Jean said.

 _We both never knew about Marco's feelings for me._

 _He kept it all to himself._

 _Even so, he still manages to be a great friend through this letter._

 _I am forever thankful of the friendship we had together._

"Thank you Marco." I said and looked up at the moon.

It felt as if he was watching us from above.

Jean was looking at me and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"I stayed quiet this whole time because I had to think." Jean said.

"Think about what?" I asked.

"Think about myself." He said and lowered his head. "I was angry at myself."

"What? Why? You did nothing wrong." I said.

"No. I was being selfish the entire time." He said.

I looked at him with confusion.

"I only cared about where I'll be after graduation. I kept talking about you. I never gave Marco the chance to speak. He must've really wanted to tell me that night as well. Now, Marco's gone. He wants me to forgive him. I should be the one asking for forgiveness." Jean said.

He had a single tear run down his cheek.

I wiped it away with my hand.

 _I've never seen Jean cry before._

"Eri." He said my name.

Within a matter of seconds, Jean grabbed me and hugged me.

My eyes widened in shock.

I know we've hugged before, but this time, the hug was really intimate.

"Seeing Marco made me realize that I don't want to be selfish anymore. We already lost Marco. I can't afford to lose you too. I care about you too much." Jean said.

"Y-You do?" I questioned.

 _I know Marco's letter said that Jean likes me too._

 _It's actually true._

"I do. Why do you think I was scared for you when I saw you in the hands of a titan? It's unbearable to think of you being gone." He said.

Once again, Jean pulled me into another hug.

"Eri, everything Marco wrote in that letter was true. I really like you. To the point where I realized that I am in love with you ever since yesterday." Jean confessed.

My face flushed.

I could feel my heart beating rapidly.

My hands started shaking again and I dropped the letter.

I wrapped my arms around Jean and hugged him tight.

I could hear his heart beating rapidly as well.

 _Jean said he loves me._

 _We're finally confessing our feelings._

"Jean, I'm sorry for all the times I made you worried. All I ever do is think about you ever since we met. I grew sad every time I think about you leaving for the Military Police. I told myself that I would tell you how I feel after the ceremony. I'm just really glad to hear you say it first." I said with a light smile.

We gazed into each other's eyes for a bit. It lasted for a minute until Jean spoke.

"Eri, I decided to not go to the Military Police." Jean said.

I looked at him, shocked and surprised at what he said.

"Why? I thought you've always wanted to go there." I asked.

"It was something I had to think about also. I will never forgive myself if I join the Police, knowing that Marco died out there. Therefore, I made the decision to join the Survey Corps. I want to avenge Marco's death. It's the best I can do for a friend. Plus, I want to stay by you. I want to protect you no matter what." Jean said.

I had a whole new perspective on Jean. He has really grown mature ever since we met. Jean has become a changed man.

"I'm glad to hear you say that." I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"We're going to fight for Marco and your parents." Jean said.

"Right." I said with a light smile.

I looked at Jean and I could see his cheeks getting pinkish.

"I love you Eri." Jean said as he shyly looked away.

"I love you too Jean." I said.

Our faces were getting closer, eventually, our lips touched.

Being with Jean made me really happy.

 _Thank you Marco for bringing us closer to each_ _other._

 _I will never forget the act of kindness you had towards us._

"We should head back. We need to rest after a long day." I said as we parted our lips.

"Right." Jean nodded.

With that, he grabbed my hand and we headed back towards the resting area that were provided for the soldiers.


	11. Survey Corps

Once Jean and I made our way back, we were soon approached by a female soldier dressed in uniform with a green cape.

"Good evening, are you Eri Sotomayo?" said the woman.

"Uh Yes. Is there anything I can help you with?" I asked.

I looked at her green cape. There was the winged logo.

 _She's from the Survey Corps._

She was also familiar looking.

It seemed as if I met her before.

"My name is Hange Zoe, I am from the Survey Corps. I'm here on behalf of Commander Erwin Smith who wishes to see you." Hange said.

"What?"

 _The Scout Regiment wants to see me? For what?_ I asked myself.

"There are some things we would like to discuss with you." She said.

I looked at her and nodded my head.

"Understood." I said.

I turned my attention to Jean.

"You go ahead Jean. I need to go." I said.

He nodded his head with understanding and walked back to where everyone else were.

"Follow me." Hange said.

With that, I followed her through the city and headed towards a secluded area.

"This is our current headquarters." Hange said.

She was pointing at an abandoned looking building.

It wasn't too big or small, just an average sized building.

Hange and I went inside and walked up to the top floor.

There was only one room here.

Hange knocked the door.

"Come in." I heard someone say from inside.

She opened the door and I stepped inside.

"Eri Sotomayo?" Said a man with blonde hair, sitting at his desk.

I assumed he's Commander Erwin.

To his right, there was a short man, black hair with the meanest look ever.

"Please, sit." Erwin said, pointing at an empty chair in front of him.

I saluted towards Commander Erwin and took a seat.

"Forgive me for calling you here so sudden." Erwin said. "I am Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps. This is Captain Levi Ackerman."

He pointed at the short man.

"And this is Captain Hange Zoe. They are both my Elite subordinates."

I looked at Hange once more and realized who she was.

 _She was my mother's research assistant!_

 _She's the one who told me of my parents passing._

"I assume you realized who I am judging by the face your making." Hange said with a smile.

I fixed my posture and blushed in embarrassment.

"Yes. I do. You were my mother's research assistant Captain Hange." I said and bowed towards her. "Thank you for having the courage to approach me about my parents."

"Your parents were wonderful soldiers. Your mother worked with Captain Hange and your father was an Elite soldier, working with Captain Levi." Erwin said.

I looked at Captain Levi and he nodded his head in agreement.

"Your father did not die in vain." Levi said.

"Thank you." I said.

"Eri. I called you here because we would like to speak to you about your mother's research. Captain Hange." Erwin said.

Hange cleared her throat and stepped forward.

"When you mother and father died, I found her notebook during our expedition. She had many information about titans which caused me to continue her research. I would like to know if your mother had said anything to you about titans." Hange said.

I looked at her with a frown.

"Unfortunately, no. My mother kept her information private. All she did was give me this locket before their last expedition." I said.

I took out my locket from my shirt and showed it to them.

"She told me there was some important information inside it but I've been unable to open it." I added.

Hange's eyes lit up when she saw my locket.

"That's it!" She shouted.

"What is it Captain Hange?" Erwin asked.

"The notebook had the word 'locket' written in it. I wasn't able to understand what she meant until now. Eri, that locket needs to be opened." Hange said.

At first, I was skeptical.

This locket was the only thing I have as a remembrance of my parents.

 _I have a strong feeling mother wanted me to do this._

I took off the necklace and handed it to Hange.

 _It's now in the right hands Mom._

"Please do. I'm glad my mother's work was not left behind." I said with a smile.

"There's another thing I would like to discuss with you." Erwin spoke. "Now that you're in the Military and graduated from training, have you chosen which branch to join?"

I looked at the three of them with confidence.

"Of course. I want to join the Survey Corps. I want to follow my parent's path." I said.

"Hn. Confident kid." Levi said.

"Excellent. You have the determination of your parents. I like that in a soldier." Erwin said.

Hange smiled at me with her thumbs up.

"I know your ceremony has been pushed back for two days. For the time being, would you like to be Captain Hange's research assistant?" Erwin asked.

I was shocked to hear this.

"I could use you as my helper." Hange said with a smile.

 _This was what I was waiting for!_

"Y-Yes!" I said, hiding my excitement.

I stood up from my chair and saluted. "Thank you for the offer Commander Erwin. I accept."

Erwin stood up from his seat and saluted back.

"Excellent." He said. "Captain Levi. Do you have any questions for Eri?"

Levi was leaning against the wall the entire time and fixed his posture.

"Yeah. Do you know Eren Jaeger?" Levi asked.

I was surprised by his sudden question.

"Y-Yes. Eren is a friend of mine." I said.

"What do you know about his titan form?" Levi questioned.

"Well, I don't really know much. When I first saw his titan form, he practically saved me when I was trapped at the Supply Headquarters. At that time, I didn't even know that it was Eren. I just thought it was a titan with intelligence that has no interest in eating humans and only attacks other titans." I answered.

"How did you discover that it was him?" Levi asked.

"It wasn't until we had our gas tanks refilled and retreated back to the inner wall. We found the titan's body decomposing and Eren came out from the nape of it's neck. Beforehand, I was notified that Eren was eaten alive by another titan. So finding him like that was a mystery to me." I said.

"Very well." Levi said and nodded his head.

"Okay. Thank you for coming in Eri. You will be assisting Hange with her research starting tomorrow morning. Rest for the night and report to her right away." Erwin said.

I saluted towards the three as they saluted back.

I stepped out of the office and made my way back to where Jean was.

* * *

"I'm proud of you Eri." Jean said.

I told him the conversation I had with the Survey Corps.

"Yeah. So starting tomorrow, I'm helping Captain Hange with her research." I said with a smile.

"I see. You spending the whole day with her right?" Jean asked.

"Yeah. What will you do then?" I asked him.

"I'm going to Jinae. It's Marco's hometown. I'm going to personally tell his family about his death." Jean said.

I grew sad.

 _Marco's family will be devastated._

"I just realized something. I never knew where you guys grew up from." I said, a frown on my face.

Jean looked at me with a surprised look.

"I guess we never told you. Marco and I told each other about our life before the military." Jean said, looking at the ground. "You never told me where you grew up from either."

"I feel like a terrible friend." I said sadly.

"Don't be." Jean said as he held my hand. "I'm originally from Trost District."

My eyes widened.

"Trost District!?" I shouted. "B-But..."

"It's nothing to worry about." Jean said calmly. "I only live with my mother. I heard she evacuated safely. That's all that matters."

I could tell from the tone of his voice that he doesn't have a good relationship with his mother.

"How come you never mentioned to me about your mother?" I asked.

Jean kept quiet and looked at me.

"That's because I resented my previous life." He said.

I was shocked to hear that.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"I hated how my life was before joining the Military. My mother was spoiling me. She's too caring and always intrudes my privacy. One day, I got furious at her and yelled at her. I even told her that I hated her. After that, I went to the military and met you guys. I haven't seen her since then." He said.

I was truly surprised to hear this.

"W-Wow Jean..." I said, a bit speechless.

"Yeah. Stupid of me right?" Jean said sarcastically.

"Yeah. It is stupid." I said, giving him an angry look.

"E-Eri!" Jean said, surprised that I agreed.

"Your mother loves you Jean. I'm pretty sure she's been worrying about you every single day. She's probably worried sick even more when Trost District was under attack." I lectured him.

"I know." Jean said and sighed. "I did thought about visiting her sometime soon."

"Then that's what we'll do." I said.

"W-What!?" Jean yelled, surprised at my sentence.

"I'm serious. Whenever we have free time, we're going to visit your mom. I promise to show you my home if I get to meet your mom." I said with a sinister smile.

Jean looked at me as if he wanted to protest but then sighed.

"You win Eri." He said in defeat.

"Alright!" I shouted in excitement.

I hugged Jean and smiled.

"It's a promise." I said.

He looked at me and lightly smiled.

"Yeah. Promise." He said.

"Okay. We should get some rest. It's going to be a long day tomorrow. Please give Marco's family my biggest condolences." I said.

"Of course.. I'll see you." Jean said.

With that, he pecked my lips and walked off.

The boys resting area was on one side of the street while the girls were on the opposite.

I smiled, turned around and made my way inside the building.

I picked a random bed and laid on top of it.

A lot went through my mind.

I had the image of Marco's body stuck on my mind.

I shed a few tears before wiping them away.

I closed my eyes and slept.


	12. Experiments

"Good Morning Eri." Hange greeted me with a smile.

"Good morning Captain Hange." I said and saluted her.

"Ready to start your first day of research?" Hange asked, feeling excited.

"Yeah. I am." I said, smiling from her question.

"Good! Follow me." She said.

Hange took me to a horse stable and gave me a horse to ride on.

There, I followed her out of the city, through the inner gates of Wall Rose and rode into Trost District.

The area was a mess but at least it was safe for us to roam around the area.

"Captain Hange, can I asked you something?" I asked, catching up to her pace with my horse.

"What is it?" She turned to look at me.

"Where's Eren?" I asked her.

At first, she gave me a questionable look but then smiled.

"Don't worry. He's safe. He's with Captain Levi and his Elite squad. We're having Eren practice his titan skills." Hange said.

"Oh alright." I said quietly.

 _I wondered what happened with Eren ever since we reclaimed Trost District._

After a couple minutes, Hange led me to an abandoned building.

We departed from our horses and approached the building entrance.

There were troops from the Survey Corps and Garrison guarding.

We saluted towards them as they saluted back.

"Captain Hange!" They greeted her.

"How are my children?" She asked.

"They're exactly how you left them." One soldier said.

I looked at Captain Hange quizzically.

 _Children? What is she talking about?_

"Come in Eri. You'll see what I'm up to." Hange said with a huge grin on her face.

"Uh. Okay." I said, confused at what's going on.

We entered through the entrance.

The building was an entirely open space.

There were a lot of troops surrounding the area.

"Here is where we work on our experiments!" Hange shouted.

She was pointing up ahead.

As I stepped forward to look, my eyes widened in shock.

There were two titans right in front of me.

They each had a series of restraints around their necks and had huge nails that are pinning them to the ground. Thus preventing them from moving away.

"W-What? Where did they come from?" I questioned, looking at Hange.

"When you all were slaying the remaining titans, we captured two of them for our research." Hange said.

She took off her glasses and walked next to me.

"Eri, I want you to meet Sonny and Bean." She said, pointing at the two titans.

I stood there, amazed and in shock.

 _We're going to do experiments on them?_

 _That's crazy._

 _Is this what mother does!?_

"Aren't they cute!?" Hange said, looking at the titans with excitement.

"W-What are we going to do to them?" I asked.

"I'm going to run a series of test on them. I want you to take down whatever information I discover." Hange said.

With that, one of her soldiers walked up to me and handed me a clipboard.

I looked at the clipboard and it gave a brief information on both titans.

Sonny was a 4-meter titan with blonde hair, blue eyes and sitting upright.

As for Bean, Bean was 7-meters with brown hair and brown eyes. He was pinned with his stomach on the ground.

"Have you ever wondered why titans have such humanistic features? It's truly fascinating." Hange said.

"I guess I know what you mean. My mother said that same thing when she first started her research." I said.

"Alright! Let's start the experiment!" Hange yelled.

* * *

The first test Captain Hange did was testing their communication skills.

She approached Sonny and asked it a series of questions.

"Hello Sonny! How are you feeling? Does your body hurt? Are you tired?"

Sonny remained calm and silent.

Captain Hange was standing really close to Sonny.

"Captain Hange! Be careful! You're standing way too close!" A Survey Corp soldier shouted.

She then approached Bean.

Since Bean's face was on the ground, she walked really close to it's face.

"C-Captain! You're too close to Bean!" I shouted towards her.

I stood really far back at a safe distance.

"Good Morning Bean. Nice weather we're having right? Are you feeling hungry?" She asked.

She was standing right in front of Beans mouth and smiled.

Within a matter of seconds, Bean leaned it's face forward and tried to take a bite of Hange.

Luckily, she jumped back just in time.

"Woah! That was close!" She yelled.

"Captain Hange! That's dangerous!" Her soldier yelled at her.

 _This woman is crazy..._ I thought to myself.

She slowly walked closer to Bean again and took another step back when Bean tried to take a bite.

She started laughing maniacally.

"Eri! Take some notes! I've concluded that communications with them are impossible." Hange said.

With that, I started scribbling on the clipboard of notes.

* * *

The next test was Sunlight Deprivation.

Hange had the troops cover both titans in individual large tents to give them complete darkness.

She wanted to see how they'd react with no sunlight.

We waited around an hour after depriving them of light.

"Pass me the lantern." Hange ordered one of her soldiers.

Someone gave her a lantern and she turned it on.

"Okay Eri. We're going inside to see how they are without any sunlight." Hange said with a huge smile.

"Right." I nodded my head.

"Let's check with Sonny first." She said.

With that, she opened a small opening from the tent and headed in as I followed after her.

Inside the tent, Sonny was sitting there.

From the looks of it, it seems like Sonny was feeling very sleepy.

"Wow. You really hung in there Sunny. It's only been an hour. I guess you don't handle darkness well." Hange said.

She looked at me and I started writing down what she said on the notes.

"Well, I'll just leave you alone then." Hange said as she made her way out of the tent. "Next up is Bean."

We entered Bean's tent and observed the titan.

Bean was making some noises and tried to move around.

"It seems you're a night owl Bean. You're also really restless eh?" Hange said.

I wrote down Bean's results.

It seems that this test gave a different between the two titans.

Sonny can't handle darkness while Bean could.

 _How interesting._

"I guess I'll sit here and observe you for a longer time." Hange said.

She sat on the ground with a smile and just stared at Bean.

This happened for three hours.

We were just standing there for three hours, just watching Bean continue to make noises and wiggle around.

"Alright. This ends the second experiment. Time to remove the tents!" Hange shouted as we left Bean.

On my notes, I wrote a conclusion that Sonny is inactive without sunlight while Bean somewhat can.

* * *

"Now the third test!" Hange yelled. "I'm going to test their sense of pain!"

Hange grabbed a spear and looked a the two titans.

"Are you ready for this!? Sonny? Bean!?" She shouted.

With the spear in her hands, Captain Hange ran towards Bean and stabbed it's eye.

Hange started screaming as if she was the one in pain.

"Waaaahhhh!"

Tears were streaming down her face as well.

"I-Is Captain Hange always like this?" I asked a nearby soldier quietly.

"Yeah. That's her personality." He responded.

 _Okay. This woman is SERIOUSLY crazy._ I kept as a mental note.

As Captain Hange continue to dig the spear in Bean's eye and screamed, the titan was yelping in pain as well as trying to escape from the restraints.

"C-Captain! You don't need to scream!" A Garrison soldier approached her.

"Why shouldn't I!? Can't you see how much pain Bean is feeling!?" Hange yelled. "I NEED TO SEE IF THEY HAVE ANY WEAKNESSES OTHER THAN THE NAPE OF THE NECK!"

Hange took out the spear and started stabbing Bean's other eye.

Bean continued to yelp in pain and wiggle around.

I just stood there in total shock.

 _Never have I ever seen anyone do this to a titan._

 _It's sickening._

After a few minutes, Hange finally stopped inflicting pain on Bean and approached Sonny.

"Here I go Sonny!" She screamed.

She used the spear and jabbed it into it's heart.

"Look Sonny. The spear is stuck in your heart." Hange said calmly.

She started twisting it around.

"Doesn't it hurt? Do you feel any pain?" Hange asked.

Once again, Sonny remained calm and seemed unfazed.

Pretty soon, Sonny started grunting and leaned forward.

"What is it Sonny?" Hange asked.

She leaned forward as well to look closer at Sonny.

Sonny's mouth opened wide and just as Captain Hange's head and close to it, Sonny tried to shut his mouth.

"Captain!" I screamed.

I grabbed Hange's arm and dragged her back right when Sonny closed it's mouth.

"Be careful Captain! You almost got bit!" A soldier yelled out.

Hange looked at Sonny dumbfounded and then started laughing.

"Wow! You almost had me there Sonny!" She said.

"Captain! You'll seriously get yourself killed like that!" I yelled.

She just kept laughing and stood there.

"Well! I had fun experimenting all day!" Hange shouted as she yawned and stretched.

"What is your conclusion for today's research?" I asked her.

"Today, I concluded that Sonny is an introvert. As for Bean, Bean has a cranky personality." Hange said.

"Are we done for the day?" I asked.

"Yes. We're done. I'm going to run the same experiments again tomorrow morning." Hange said with a smile.

She then walked up to the two titans.

"Sonny! Bean! It was nice working with you two! I'll see you tomorrow!" She said.

She saluted towards them and headed out.

I handed the clipboard to one of her soldiers and followed along.

It was already night time.

We spent all morning and afternoon running the experiments.

"What do we do now Captain Hange?" I asked her.

"You can rest up for the day. I'm going to your friend and speak to him." She said.

"Eh? Am I able to see Eren too?" I looked at her with hope.

"Sorry. Eren's location is kept low profiled for the time being." Hange said.

"Oh. Okay." I said in disappointment.

"Go rest up. I'll see you in the morning." Hange said as she got on her horse and rode off.

 _I guess I'll look for Annie or Jean._

So I hopped on my horse and made my way back to the city.

* * *

I brought my horse back to the stables and walked around the city.

I noticed some food markets around and they had some fresh looking bread on sale.

I took out some money and bought four pieces.

"Here you go." Said the shopkeeper and she handed me the bag of bread.

"Thank you for the business." I said with a smile and walked off.

 _I bought this to share with my friends. Jean, Annie and Marco._

I realized what I said in my head and stopped walking.

 _Marco..._

 _I unknowingly bought a piece for him._

"I miss you Marco." I whispered.

With that, I continued walking and made my way back to the resting area.

Along the way back, I saw Annie up ahead, alone.

"Annie!" I called out to her.

She turned around and looked at me.

"Hello Eri." She said. "I see your leg is a lot better."

"Yeah! It really is." I said with a smile.

"What's up?" She asked.

I explained to her everything that happened with the Survey Corps and my research with Captain Hange.

"Experimenting on titans?" She questioned.

"Yeah. It was really interesting although Captain Hange is a crazy woman." I said.

"At least you're able to pursue your mother's works." Annie said.

"Indeed!" I said and smiled.

She went silent for a minute, thinking about what to say.

"Have you..." she paused. "discovered anything important?"

I looked at Annie quizzically.

Her question caught me off guard. It sounded as if she was determined to know the answer.

"Well, not really. We only concluded what kind of personalities the titans had." I said.

"I see." She said and then looked at the ground.

"Oh, by the way, take this. I bought one for you." I took out a piece of bread from the bag and handed it to her.

"For me?" She asked.

"Yeah!" I said in joy.

Annie looked hesitant at first but then accepted the bread.

"Thank you." She said.

"No problem." I smiled.

Annie was looking at me and then looked away.

It looks like something was really bothering her.

"Can I ask you a question?" Annie said.

"Sure. What is it?" I looked at her.

She was silent at first but then spoke.

"I know Reiner and Bertolt don't count, but what are you still my friend?" She asked.

This took me by surprise.

 _Why would she ask something like that?_

"What do you mean Annie? We've been friends since the first day of training. We've grown close over the course of three years. I consider you my best friend." I said and gave her a warm smile.

 _I guess she's not use to having other friends._

"What is one of your closest friend did something really terrible to you. Would you still consider them as a friend?" She asked.

I gave her a questionable look.

"I guess it depends on what the situation is." I said.

"I see." Annie said as she got quiet again.

I studied her face.

She seemed to show a sense of guilt, just like yesterday.

 _Did something happen to her?_

"Remember this Annie, no matter what, you'll always be my friend." I said, hoping that'll cheer her up.

Annie looked at me once again and then looked away.

"I guess so." She said. "Well, thanks for the bread."

With that, Annie walked away.

"Annie." I called out to her.

She stopped walking and turned to look at me.

"We're still going to have tea together when you go to the Police right?" I asked.

At first, she gave me her poker faces but then changed to a slightly warmer expression.

"Yeah." She said.

With that, she turned around and walked away.

* * *

I continued walking around the area and made my way to the men's resting area.

There was a bench nearby and I sat there.

 _I wonder if Jean is back from his trip._

I placed the bag of bread on the bench and stretched out a big yawn.

"Boy do I feel exhausted." I said to myself quietly.

"You shouldn't have waited up for me then." Jean said.

He was standing a few feet away from me.

Jean looked as if he was trying to force a smile.

"It's okay. I wanted to see you and talk about my day." I said, patting on the empty seat next to me.

Jean walked up and sat down.

I grabbed the bag and took out a piece of bread.

"Here. I bought one for us. Thought we could spend some bit of time together before we sleep." I said.

"Thank you Eri." Jean said as he grabbed the bread and started eating it.

I took out my piece and ate it as well.

"So, how was it?" I asked. "Was it tough?"

Jean was silent and stared at his bread.

"Yeah. It was." He said.

I could see the sadness in his eyes.

 _It still feels weird without Marco._

 _Only a day passed since we found his body._

 _I'm still in disbelief that he's gone._

"I met his parents. He was their only child." Jean said quietly.

"I see." I said sadly. "How did they take it?"

"Worse than the two of us of course." Jean said with a sigh. "It was depressing just being there."

"I'm pretty sure it was. I don't think I would be able to tell them." I said as I placed my hand on top of his.

"They said that they were grateful Marco had us as his friend. They also personally thanked me for coming all the way to Jinae to tell them about his passing." Jean said.

"It's better to tell them than never knowing what's happened to your child." I whispered.

"I agree." Jean said.

It was silence again as we finished the rest of the bread.

I picked up the bag and took out the extra piece of bread I had.

"I bought this piece, thinking that Marco was still here. How silly of me." I said, trying to laugh it off.

I was getting sad again.

Jean wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him.

"It's okay. I spent my day thinking that Marco would just pop out and tell me that he faked his death." He said as he gave a light laugh. "Guess I'm the silly one now."

I looked at him and smiled.

 _We're both being silly._

 _We're just not ready to move on yet._

"I'll see you tomorrow Eri. Thank you for the bread."

Jean kissed my cheek and got up from the bench.

"See ya." I said and smiled.

With that, Jean walked off.

I got up from my seat as well and picked up the bag of leftover bread.

 _I guess I'll feed it to my horse in the morning._ I thought to myself and I made my way back and rested for the night.


	13. Investigation

Morning came around and I was at the stables waiting for Captain Hange.

While waiting for her, I was grooming my horse.

"You have such pretty hair." I said, smiling at my horse.

 _Call me crazy, but I do like horses._

My horse neighed and blew air through his nostrils.

"Oh. That reminds me, I have some bread for you."

I took out the piece of bread and fed it to the horse.

"It was supposed to be for Marco but he is no longer in this world with us." I said with a sad smile.

My horse ate the bread and started wagging it's tail.

"You know, since you're most likely going to be my main horse in the Survey Corps, I should give you a name."

I placed a finger to my chin and started thinking.

 _What should I name you?_

"How about Ace?" I asked my horse.

He neighed and shook his head 'no'.

"No? What about Flash?"

He shook his head 'no' again.

"Leo?"

Again, no.

"Picking a name for you sure is hard." I said.

I studies my horse. He was all white and pale. Like a cloud.

"Cloud?" I asked.

He started neighed and jumped in excitement.

"Woah there! I guess that means you like the name." I laughed. "Okay then Cloud. I'm Eri if you don't remember my name."

With that, I started stroking Cloud's nose.

After a few minutes passed by, I heard the sound of footsteps, running towards my direction.

"I-I'm sorry for the intrusion! But is Miss Sotomayo here!?" Someone shouted.

"T-That's me." I said, startled by the sudden appearance. "Is something the matter?"

I looked at the person shouting. It was a soldier from the Survey Corps.

He was out of breath from the running.

Plus, he looked as if he had urgent news to say.

"You must come with me! It's about the test subjects!" He said.

"Eh? What about them?" I asked.

"T-They've been killed!" He shouted.

"What!?" I yelled, surprised at the news.

 _Sonny and Bean's been killed?_

"Have you told Captain Hange about this?" I asked him.

"We already sent someone to tell her of the news. You must come now Miss Sotomayo!" He yelled.

"Right! Let's go Cloud."

I immediately hopped on my horse and darted my way through the gates of Wall Rose and into Trost District.

* * *

The moment I reached the abandoned building, I hopped off Cloud and ran inside.

There was a huge crowd of troops within the three branches, surrounding where Sonny and Bean were.

"Coming through! I am Captain Hange's research assistant!" I yelled.

They all moved to the side and I walked up to front and looked at the scene.

My eyes widened in shock.

There were two decomposing bodies, light smoke emitting the air and just ashes and bones.

 _Sonny and Bean._

"It's Captain Hange!" Someone yelled.

I turned around to see Hange coming from the crowd.

Her eyes were wider than mine and she started crying.

"NOOO! SONNY! BEAN! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU TWO!?" Captain Hange cried.

"Does anyone know what happened here!?" I shouted.

A Garrison soldier approached me.

"Miss Sotomayo, we don't know how this happened. We found them like this since dawn." He said.

"We believe someone took the maneuvering device last night and took the chance to kill the titans before we had a chance to check on them in the morning." Said a Survey Corp member.

"MY BABIES! HOW COULD THIS BE!?" Hange continued crying.

"What made you sure of that fact?" I asked.

"It is the only way the culprit can escape. We had people guarding all the entrances and exits." said the Garrison soldier.

"I see." I turned my attention to Hange.

She was still crying over the titan's deaths.

 _This woman is seriously crazy._

I eyed the crowd to find anyone that seemed suspicious.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to tell because of all the commotion.

However, I did manage to see Eren and Captain Levi among the crowd.

I started to walk forward to approach Eren but I was soon blocked with the presence of Commander Erwin.

"Eri. Captain Hange." He called us.

Captain Hange finally stopped crying and saluted as I did the same.

"A crime has been made. This is now going to be in the hands of the Military Police to take care of the matter. We have reports that a soldier took the opportunity to commit this crime within the night." Erwin said.

"Commander, do you think we have a traitor among us?" I asked.

"I do. I also believe this was a premeditated crime." He said.

"My poor children." Hange said through her crazy tears.

"What do we do now?" I asked Commander Erwin.

"Right now, there's nothing we can do. The Police are taking over. Head back to your post. I will see you tonight at the Branching ceremony." Erwin said.

With that, I saluted towards Captain Hange and Commander Erwin.

I turned around and walked towards the exit.

 _Eren!_

Before I forget, I walked around to search for Eren.

Sadly, I couldn't find him anywhere.

He and Captain Levi must've left when I was talking to Commander Erwin.

I couldn't help but to frown.

 _I have so many questions for Eren._

With a sigh of defeat, I hopped on Cloud and made my way back to the stables.

* * *

It was already afternoon.

I was told that the Military Police are calling in all the recruits to have their maneuver gears examined as part of the investigation.

With that, I dropped off Cloud and headed to the gear checkout center.

I checked out my gear and made my way towards the Police.

There was a line of recruits with the gears for the Police to examine.

"Oh. Eri." said a voice behind me.

I turned around to see Krista.

"Hey Krista." I smiled at her.

"It's crazy that the police suspects that one of us committed the crime." She said.

"Yeah. It really is crazy." I said.

"I heard that you're a part of the research team there. Is that true?" She asked.

"Yeah it is." I answered her question.

"Does that mean you've officially joined the Survey Corps?" She asked.

"Yup. But I am still ordered to attend the ceremony tonight." I said. "What about you? Have you decided where you'll go?"

"Not really. I still don't know where I should go to. Maybe I'll know by tonight." She said.

"I see."

By the time we reached to the front of the line, I got separated from Krista and was taken to a table where I laid out my gear.

Everyone of us stood in front of our gears and posed with our right hand over our chest.

Some of the Military Police walked around and examined each recruits maneuver gear.

I looked forward and noticed that Armin and Annie were at the table two rows ahead of me.

Once they were finished examined our maneuver gears, we were ordered to return them and move on with our day.

I looked outside and noticed that it was close to night time.

 _Almost time for the ceremony._ I thought to myself.

As soon as I handed back my gear, I saw Reiner and Bertolt.

 _They're really close with Annie._

 _Maybe they know what's been going on with her behavior._

"Hey Reiner, Bertolt." I approached them with a smile.

"H-Hello Eri." Reiner stuttered a greeting.

"Hi there." Bertolt said with a poker face.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked, looking at the two.

"What is it?" Reiner questioned.

"Is everything alright with Annie?" I asked my question.

At first, they were both taken by surprise and then looked at each other.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" I questioned, giving them and odd look.

"No you didn't." Bertolt said.

"Oh. But is Annie okay though? She looked as if something was really bothering her." I said.

Again, the two looked at each other.

"Don't worry about her." Reiner said. "She witnessed a comrade get eaten alive when we were killing off the remaining titans at Trost District."

I looked at Bertolt and he nodded his head.

"Oh. Was she close with that person?" I asked.

"Uhm.." Reiner paused. "Not really, this fallen comrade was a friend of someone she knows."

"I see." I said.

 _That's odd._

 _I don't recall Annie being friends with any other person._

 _I guess she must've made another friend during our years of training and never told me._

 _I can't blame her. She's always been quiet and mysterious._

"Okay. Thanks for letting me know." I said and smiled at the two.

I could see Reiner's face showing a shade of pink.

"I-It was nothing..." He said quietly.

"Well, I'll see you guys tonight at the ceremony." I said.

I waved at them and walked away.

 _That must've been why Annie kept apologizing when she found out Marco died._

 _She witnessed someone she knew die._

 _I should go talk to her._

I walked around the neighborhood, searching for Annie.

Within five minutes, I found Armin and Mikasa talking to each other.

"Hey guys." I greeted them as I approached the two.

"Hi Eri." Mikasa said quietly.

"Did you get your gear examine?" Armin asked.

"Yeah. I was standing behind you and Annie." I said.

"Oh. I see." Armin said quietly.

Armin had a look on his face. It seemed as if he had something on his mind.

"You okay Armin?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. I'm fine." He said.

"Okay." I said, letting it go.

"How's your research?" Mikasa asked.

I looked at her as my eyes lit up.

"It's going really well. Despite the fact that our titans were killed. But we did find little information about the two." I said.

"Were you able to see Eren?" Armin asked.

"No. I haven't been able to have a decent chat with him ever since Trost." I said. "What did happen to you guys ever since Trost was reclaimed?"

"We were in court." Mikasa asid.

"What? Really? For what?" I questioned.

"We had to convince the law enforcement that Eren's titan abilities will help us with out future battles. Along with that, All three branches wanted Eren for his powers. In the end, the judge chose Eren to be in the hands of the Survey Corps." Armin said.

"That's good. At least there's some sort of trust in Eren right?" I asked.

"Yeah. We haven't seen Eren ever since the Survey Corps took him." Mikasa said.

She seemed agitated.

I can understand why.

I had a feeling through our years of training that she deeply cares about him.

"Well, if it makes you guys feel better, Captain Hange informed me that Eren's with Captain Levi training his titan abilities." I said.

"I hope we get to see him soon." Armin said.

"I agree." I added.

I realized that it was getting darker outside.

 _I want to talk to Annie before the ceremony!_

"I'll see you guys later. I got something to do." I said as I waved at them and ran off.

* * *

I spent the next hour running around in search for Annie.

There were no sign of her anywhere.

Eventually, it was about time for the ceremony.

Defeated, I made my way to the orientation site.

 _Guess I'll find Annie there and speak to her._

 _I was hoping to speak to her in private though._

Once I got to the site, I found Annie with Reiner and Bertolt.

"Annie." I called out to her.

"Yes Eri?" She turned to look at me.

"Is it okay if I speak to you in private?" I asked.

She looked hesitant at first but then agreed.

"Sure. Excuse me Reiner, Bertolt." She said.

Reiner and Bertolt nodded their heads and walked off.

"What do you want to talk about?" Annie asked.

"Well, I approached Reiner and Bertolt not too long again. I was very concerned for you Annie." I said.

"Why?" She questioned.

"You were acting pretty strange ever since we reclaimed Trost District. I didn't know why so I had to ask them. They told me that you witnessed a comrade get eaten alive." I said.

She facial expression changed as if she was rethinking about the event.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean for you to think about it." I said, apologizing.

She fixed herself and went back to that cold look she always gives.

"It's okay." She said coldly.

"Are you okay though? You must've been really upset." I asked.

"No. I'm okay. If anything, I still feel really bad for you." She said.

"Eh? Why's that?" I asked her.

"That's because your friendship with Marco means more than what little knowledge I have of the comrade that died." She said.

I looked at Annie.

I felt sad.

"You're such a great friend Annie." I said.

She looked away when I said that.

"Sure.." She said quietly.

"Why don't you ever consider going to the Survey Corps?" I asked her.

She looked back at me and answered my question coldly.

"Because I don't want to be a part of that. I rather live a peaceful life." She said.

I was taken back by her words.

"I-I see..." I said quietly.

I felt a sense of disappointment in me.

 _After what she's seen, she still wants to go to the Police._

"If you excuse me Eri, I'm going back to Reiner and Bertolt." Annie said.

"Oh. Alright." I said.

She turned around and walked back to her two friends.

I looked at the ground.

Sadness was kicking in again.

"Everything okay Eri?" I heard Jean asked as he walked up to me.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I said, looking up at Jean and forcing a smile onto him.

"You sure?" He asked.

"For sure." I said.

"Alright. If you say so." He said quietly.

He grabbed my hand and held onto it.

"We should move up. The ceremony will start soon." Jean said.

I held his hand tight.

"Yeah." I said.

With that, we walked up and regrouped with all our other friends.

All the recruits within the districts gathered around and we all lined up at the start of the ceremony.


	14. Ceremony and Formation

All the recruits stood at a assembly as we saluted at a person approaching the podium ahead.

That person was Commander Erwin.

He stepped to the front, examined the amount of recruits we had and spoke.

"Good evening. I am Commander Erwin Smith, leader of the Survey Corps. Today is the day you all choose a branch to serve in. I am here to discuss with you all about the next expedition." Erwin said, projecting his voice.

I looked at Erwin, surprised that there's already an expedition in plan.

"The Survey Corps 57th expedition will be held in a month. The main objective for this expedition is to reclaim Shinganshina and uncover secrets hidden in the basement of Eren Jaeger's home." Erwin said.

 _Secrets in Eren's basement?_

 _What kind of secrets?_

 _Is that Eren has been under full protection with Captain Levi?_

I swallowed the saliva in my mouth and looked at Commander Erwin with a questionable look.

"Just so you know, there will be casualties if you join this group. Any expedition we go on, there will be a high risk of you ending up dead. I can already assure you that many of you will die from next month's expedition. Of course, joining this branch will never be easy. You will put your life on the line to protect humankind out there. Do you all have what it takes?" Erwin said, eyeing each recruits face.

Everybody had a look of fear on them.

After a moment of silence, Erwin projected his voice again.

"Now is the time to choose! You can either stay here, join the Survey Corps and assist in next month's expedition." Erwin paused. "Or you can walk away, join the Garrison Regiment or Military Police and stay safe within the walls."

Once Commander Erwin finished talking, he stepped back.

 _Now's the moment to decide._

As we all stood there, some recruits turned around and walked away.

Pretty soon, a significant amount of people joined the others and walked away from joining the Survey Corps.

I looked around and eyed my friends.

Sasha was in tears. She didn't move an inch, only her body was shaking. _Possibly out of fear._

Then, I looked at Conny.

He looked like he didn't want to stay but I haven't seen him move at all.

Mikasa and Armin stood there, both with a look of determination.

 _I think they're choosing Survey Corps for the sake of Eren._

Krista was crying as well.

I don't know her that well, but earlier today, she mentioned that she hadn't decided which branch to join.

If she wanted to join the other branches she would've left by now.

I then looked at Ymir, her facial expression was blank. She didn't move as well. Probably staying by Krista's side.

Then, I turned my attention to Annie.

She was standing next to Reiner and Bertolt.

Without any hesitation, Annie turned her heel and started walking away.

 _She's leaving for the Police..._

I kept looking at Annie until she was out of sight.

I was sad to see her go.

It sort of feels as if our friendship was deteriorating.

Reiner and Bertolt didn't seem to give a second look at Annie. They just continued to stand there and look ahead.

 _Are they okay with their friend leaving for the Military Police?_

Out of the many recruits we had, only less than 10 percent of us stayed to be a part of the Scout Regiment.

"Very well. I see who my brave soldiers are. Do you all fear death?" Erwin asked, stepping forward.

It was only a small crowd left as we familiarize ourselves.

"I DON'T FEAR DEATH!" Someone cried within the crowd.

"That is what I like to hear. With that, I welcome you all to the Survey Corps!" Erwin shouted.

He looked forward and saluted.

We all saluted back.

 _Mom, Dad. I really made it this far. I just hope that I don't fail you._

"Starting tomorrow, we will learn more about titans and what they are. You will also memorize the plans and formation for next months expedition. Along with that, you will each be assigned in a specific squad with a Squad Leader. On the week before our expedition, I will allow you all to go to your families and spend time with them. Like I said earlier, fatalities will happen. Who knows if it'll be your last time seeing your loved ones. Rest up and I will see you all at headquarters tomorrow." Erwin said.

With that, he turned around and left.

I looked at all my friends. They were silent.

"Damn..." I heard Jean whisper.

I turned to look at him.

"What's wrong Jean?" I asked him.

"I could've been with the Military Police." Jean said.

I continued to stare at him, letting him talk.

"If I did, I don't think I'd forgive myself." He clenched his fist. "I'm doing this for Marco..."

With that, Jean raised his fist in the air.

"Marco, I will avenge you." Jean said, looking into the starry sky.

I followed Jean and raised my fist as well.

Tears streamed down my face.

 _Jean and I will never forget you Marco._

 _I will avenge your death, as well as my parents._

 _Thank you for everything you've done for the two of us Marco._

I felt a warm sensation in my chest.

It sort of feels as if Marco is up there, watching over us.

* * *

It was early morning and I headed towards Commander Erwins office.

A meeting was to take place before I go in for my lesson.

As I stood outside the door, I took a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in." I heard Commander Erwin say.

I opened the door, entered the room and saluted.

"Good morning Commander Erwin. I'm here for the meeting." I said.

Inside the room, there was Erwin, Captain Levi and Captain Hange.

"Good morning Eri. Thank you for coming in." Erwin said.

"What is this meeting about sir?" I asked.

"We're going to tell you the true purpose of this expedition." Hange said.

I looked at the three of them in confusion.

 _What does she mean by that?_

"I don't get it. Is the mention of Eren's basement just a decoy or something?" I asked.

"Somewhat. The secret in Eren's basement is a true fact. However." Erwin said as he got up from his seat and walked up to his window. "However. The point of this expedition is to draw out the mole."

"Mole?" I questioned.

"We believe there's a mole in the military. Why else would those test subjects be killed?" Levi said, arms crossed and leaning against the wall.

"I see. Does that mean our expedition will be some sort of bait to bring out the mole?" I asked.

"Yes. It will. I have a theory that this mole is after Eren." Hange said.

"Eren? But why? Is it because Eren can transform as a titan?" I questioned.

"It's a possibility." Erwin said. "I'm hoping that the mole would show himself if their target is Eren."

"I see. Am I able to see Eren? I want to talk to him." I said, hoping my request would approve.

"Sorry. He's still with my squad under protection. You can see him before we leave for our expedition." Levi said.

I looked down, disappointed.

"Okay." I said quietly.

"Before I dismiss you, I want you to keep this objective a secret. We don't know who the traitor is. This piece of information is only told among the four of us. Understood?" Erwin said.

"Understood sir." I said.

I saluted at my leaders and left the room.

I made my way to where the other recruits were in a classroom and sat at an empty seat next to Jean.

"Where were you?" Jean asked,

"I was at Commander Erwin's office. We had a meeting." I said.

"I see. What was it about?" He asked.

"Sorry Jean. Gotta keep it a secret. Can't tell you." I said, giving him an apologetic look.

"Ah. It's okay." He said. "You know, even though we're told to assist Eren on the next expedition, I question whether or not it'll be worth it."

"What makes you say that?" I asked, looking at Jean.

"I don't know. Just something that came to my mind last night." He shrugged.

"I see." I said.

I studied his face.

Jean's still unhappy.

"You know Jean, this is the first time I hear you say Eren's name." I said, teasing him.

"Like I said the other day. It's time I stop being immature." He said.

"If that's the case, then can we visit your mother the week before our expedition?" I asked, giving him a big smile.

I could tell my question caught him off guard.

"W-What? You serious about that?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm being serious!" I said, voicing a bit loud. "We can visit her for a day and then we can spend the rest of that week at my home."

"You still haven't told me where you grew up Eri." Jean said, glaring at me.

"Right! I never did." I said with a nervous laugh.

"If I'm going to be staying over at your place, I need to know where you live." He said, teasing me this time.

I couldn't help but to blush at what he said.

I didn't realize that I invited him to stay with me at my home for an entire week.

 _What am I doing!?_ I shouted in my head.

"Did I say something to make your face red?" Jean asked.

He pinched my cheek as I snapped out of my thoughts.

"N-No. I was just thinking." I said.

I shook my head and looked at Jean.

"Well, Karanes District is my hometown. My home is by the river so we can do find some things to do there." I said and smiled at Jean.

"Karanes District huh?" I imagined you as a girl living in a more private area." Jean said.

"Nope. I prefer living in an area that's full of people. I didn't want to seclude myself after my parent's passing." I said.

"I see. Well, I can't wait to go to your home." Jean said.

"And I can't wait to meet your mom." I said, giving him a small cheesy smile.

This time, Jean blushed.

"Y-Yeah. Whatever." He said, embarrassed.

After a couple of minutes, a man with light facial hair and a white bandanna came inside the room and introduced himself.

"Hello there new recruits! My name is Dita Ness and I'm your instructor. I will be teaching you all Commander Erwin's Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation for our next expedition. For the next three weeks, we will learn the entirety of the formation as well as learn our ways of communication and the different types units and flanks in this formation."

With that, I gave in my full attention to Ness.

* * *

 _For the next three weeks, we were taught exactly what Ness mentioned._

 _We learned that the formation will consist of three flanks: Left, Right and Middle._

 _The Erwin's formation had five types of units/squads: Support, Search, Communications, Supply and Standby._

 _The support squad goes to the very front of the formation in which they are only in charge of killing any titan that gets in our way of the expedition._

 _The search unit are placed on the outer area of all three flanks to give flare signals on titan sightings._

 _Communications are the the ones who responds to the search units._

 _Supply squad are in the very end of the formation. I don't know what they're for. Ness never explained._

 _As for standby, that squad is where the Elite soldiers will be. Ness didn't mention where they'll be placed in the formation either._

 _We were also taught about the types of titans out there. I know for sure we would have normal or unique titans. We were also taught about the Colossal and Armored titan, the two titans that caused the fall of Wall Maria._

 _Upon learning all of this information, we were informed that the launching point would be through Karanes District, my hometown. That was because Karanes is the closest way to get to Shinganshina, aside from Trost since Eren blocked the hole in it._

 _We were also told that we would be expediting through the 'titan forest', an area that's entirely flat with no trees around. Basically it would be a disadvantage with the maneuver device._

 _We will be travelling by horse the entire time. Hopefully, we won't have to go through anything troublesome._

 _On our final day, we were finally told where our position in the formation would be._

 _I was put in Communications right in between the middle and right flanks._

 _Jean was placed in the lower middle flank for communications._

 _He'll be really far from where I am._

"Okay. That concludes everything I need to say about the formation. The expedition starts in one week. As Commander Erwin mentioned a few weeks back, now is the time to see your loved ones and spend some time with them. If you don't plan on going home, you're welcome to help around with setting up the supplies. You are all dismissed." Ness said with a smile.

All the recruits got up from their seats and made their way out of the room.

I turned and looked at Jean.

"Hm? What is it Eri?" Jean asked, looking back at me.

"I think it's about time we pay your mother a visit." I said.


	15. Kirstein Residence

"You know Jean, it kind of feels weird wearing normal clothes now. I'm so used to our plain uniforms." I said with a smile.

I was feeling excited to go to Jean's home.

We were currently on our way to Trost District.

Ever since Eren plugged the hole and the military cleaned up bits of Trost, some residents were allowed to go back home.

The military only allowed people who lived in certain areas of Trost where the damage wasn't so bad.

For Jean, his home was was very close to the inner gate of Wall Rose so his neighborhood wasn't destroyed.

"I'm still not okay with this." Jean said in protest.

I stood in front of Jean and leaned close to his face.

"Come on!" I shouted. "We made a deal."

I could see his face getting red.

"H-Hey! You're too close!" Jean shouted as he backed away, embarrassed.

I couldn't help but to laugh.

Ever since the breach at Trost District, Jean really has been changing.

 _This is the real Jean._

"You truly are something Jean." I said and continued walking.

He stood there, confused at my statement.

"W-What do you mean by that?" Jean asked.

I ignored him and kept walking.

"Eri? Wait up Eri!" Jean shouted.

I could hear his footsteps coming closer.

Once he was by my side, I grabbed his hand and wrapped my fingers around his.

"Are you going to be nice to your mother when we see her?" I asked.

He looked at me and stayed silent.

"I'll try my best." He said quietly.

I sighed and squeezed his hand.

"I still don't get why you're unhappy with seeing your mother." I said.

"It's complicated." He said.

"It's okay. You can tell me about your life whenever you're ready." I said, giving him a smile.

Jean stopped walking and gave me a look.

Since I was holding his hand, I stopped as well and looked back.

"Something wrong?" I asked him.

Jean leaned in and kissed my forehead.

I could feel my face getting pink.

"Thank you Eri." Jean said.

"Eh? F-For what?" I stuttered, feeling shy all of a sudden.

"For being an understanding person." He said.

With that, we continued walking and made our way through the inner gates of Wall Rose.

* * *

"This is my home." Jean said, pointing at a two-story home.

"Wow. Your home is big." I said, eyeing every inch of the house.

"It's not that special." He said.

"But your home is bigger than mine!" I shouted.

"Whatever. Let's just get this home visit over with." Jean said with a sigh.

"Okay! Let's go!" I shouted in excitement.

With that, I grabbed Jean's arm and dragged him to the front door.

"You should be the one knocking the door Jean." I said, pushing him forward to encourage him.

At first, Jean was hesitant but finally knocked the door.

It was silent for a bit until the door opened.

Behind that door was a woman with brown, shoulder-length hair in a ponytail. She was wearing a dress with an apron around it.

"Hello Mother." Jean said quietly.

Ms. Kirstein was blinking rapidly and just stared at Jean.

"J-Jeanie? Is that you?" She said, surprised by the sudden visit.

"Yeah. It's me." Jean answered, a bit coldly.

"Oh my! My Jeanie is home!" Ms. Kirstein screamed as she pulled him into a hug.

 _Jeanie!?_

I tried not to laugh when I heard that.

 _Boy was it hard._

"M-Mother! Stop that!" Jean shouted as he pushed his mother away.

I looked at his face, it was red full of embarrassment.

 _Now I see why he resents his pre-military life._

"I'm so happy to see you Jeanie. I thought you would never visit." Ms. Kirstein said as he wiped away a few tears.

I could tell she was super happy to see him.

 _I miss my Mother. I wish I could see my parents._ A sad thought came to my mind.

"Oh! Who is this Jeanie?" Ms. Kirstein asked, looking at me.

"H-Hello Ms. Kirstein. My name is Eri Sotomayo." I said.

I bowed towards her as a sign of respect.

"A lady friend! My Jeanie brought home a woman! I'm so proud!" She yelled.

I started blushing out of embarrassment.

"M-Mother! Don't talk so loud!" Jean yelled.

"Oh this is truly a happy day!" Ms. Kirstein shouted. "Please! Come in Eri!"

With that, Ms. Kirstein moved out of the way so Jean and I could enter.

As I stepped inside Jean's home, I noticed that some of the furniture were knocked over and pieces of decorations were scattered all over the floor.

"Please excuse the mess here Eri. I recently came home a few days ago and I hadn't had the chance to clean. If I knew you and Jeanie were coming, I would've tidy the place up." Ms. Kirstein said, giving me a welcoming smile.

"Nonsense Ms. Kirstein! There's no need to apologize for the mess! Please allow Jean and I to help you." I said, offering the help.

"W-What!? Eri!?" Jean shouted, surprised at the fact that I volunteered him to help.

"Oh my! What a wonderful young lady! Of course you can help!" Mr. Kirstein shouted, happy at the gesture. "I'll prepare us some lunch for us to eat while the two of you clean."

"N-No Mother it's okay. You don't have to make us anything." Jean protest.

I kicked his leg and smiled towards Ms. Kirstein.

"Jean was just kidding. Of course you can prepare something. I'd love to try your home cooking." I said.

"That makes me happy to hear. You found yourself a lovely lady Jeanie." Ms. Kirstein said as she gave a wide smile and walked into the kitchen.

Once she was out of sight, Jean pinched my cheeks and scolded me.

"Eri! What was that for!?" He questioned.

"We're going to get along with your mother whether you like it or not." I said.

I puffed my cheeks and crossed my arms.

Jean looked like he really didn't want to stay but then sighed in defeat.

"Fine. Only for a little bit." He said.

"Good." I said with a grin. "Now, let's put the furniture back."

* * *

For the next hour, Jean and I tidied up the place.

We picked up all the furniture that fell over as well as fixed up the decorations and dust up the place.

The first floor was all clean. All that's left is cleaning the upstairs.

As I approached the staircase, I was stopped by Jean.

"Wait Eri." Jean called out to me.

"Eh? What's the matter?" I asked him.

"My room is upstairs." Jean said.

"Really? Well what are we waiting for? I want to go to your room." I said, feeling the excitement rushing in my head.

"No!" He cried and grabbed my hand.

I turned and looked at him.

I'm quite shocked at his behavior today.

"You don't want me to go up there?" I asked.

With his hand still holding onto mine, Jean stayed silent.

 _Is there something in his room that he doesn't want me to see?_

"I have too much junk in my room. Plus I have things in there that are private." Jean said.

I was confused.

 _What does he have in his room?_

"Don't be silly Jean. How about this, I'll let you go upstairs first and then you can let me know when I'm allowed to come in. Deal?" I said to him.

"Deal." Jean said.

He let go of my hand and headed upstairs.

I followed after him and stood outside of his bedroom door.

I could hear a lot of papers getting shuffled it.

 _What does he do with all that paperwork?_ I wondered.

"You can come in now." Jean called out from his room.

"Finally." I said, after feeling impatient.

With that, I entered Jean's bedroom.

His room wasn't messy at all. He just had a lot of books piled up in the corner and a bunch of papers scattered all over his desk.

It was basically a plain bedroom.

 _I don't know why Jean was so persistent that I don't enter it._

"I like your room." I said, sitting on his bed.

"Y-You do?" Jean asked.

"Yeah. I do." I said, smiling at him. "However, I am curious at what's on those papers."

I got up from the bed and walked over to his desk. All the papers were turned over.

"D-Don't look at them!" Jean protested.

"Eh? Why not?" I asked, staring at him with an odd look.

Then, I noticed something at the corner of Jean's bed.

It was a drawing board.

 _Why would Jean have a drawing board?_ I wondered.

 _Could it be..._

"Do you draw Jean?" I asked him.

He looked at me with a surprised expression.

"H-How did you know?" He questioned.

"I saw your drawing board." I said, pointing at it. "If you have that thing and tons of paper around, it's pretty obvious that you like to draw."

Jean stood there dumbfounded.

"Wow. You never cease to amaze me with your smarts Eri." Jean said as he smirked.

"Why are you hiding your drawings though?" I asked him.

He looked to the ground, feeling embarrassed.

"W-Well..." He stuttered. "I never let anyone see my drawings. Not even my mother has seen them."

I was surprised to hear that.

He's really shy when it comes to his drawings.

 _I'm even more surprised that Jean draws as his hobby._

I smiled at the fact that I learned something new about him.

"Can I see them Jean? I promise I won't laugh at them." I said, still smiling.

Jean looked hesitant but then looked down.

"Sure. You can see them." He said.

I could see some shade of pink on his face.

 _He seems like he's feeling really embarrassed._

 _How cute._

I picked up a sheet of paper and turned it over.

My eyes immediately widen.

 _This picture is beautiful._

 _The drawing had a portrait of a landscape. There were trees and mountains all over it._

 _It kind of looks like the landscapes we have within the Walls._

"This is beautiful Jean." I said, trying to hide the shock in my voice.

I placed that paper down and picked up another sheet.

I flipped it over and looked at it.

It was a drawing of Jean in the Military Police uniform.

 _He really had a strong desire to join the Military Police._ I thought sadly.

 _I feel bad that he gave up his dream to join the Survey Corps._

With that, I put it down and picked up another sheet of paper.

This drawing was a portrait.

It was a girl on his picture.

The girl was beautiful, her hair was shaded area, meaning she might have dark hair and her eyes were smiling.

 _Who is this girl?_

"Whose the girl?" I asked Jean.

He looked at at the picture I was holding and started to freak out.

"N-No one! Just some random girl I thought of in my head!" He said.

I studied the picture again and realized something.

 _This girl looks like Mikasa._

 _How did Jean draw a picture of her if he never met her before the Military?_

"She sort of looks like Mikasa." I said, showing no emotion in my tone of voice.

I don't know why, but I was feeling jealous that there's a drawing of Mikasa.

"W-Well...I-I can explain..." Jean said nervously.

"Have you met Mikasa before the Military?" I asked.

I turned to look at him with the paper still in my hand.

"N-No. Never did." Jean said quietly.

I just stood there and stared at him in confusion.

"I don't get it. If you've never seen Mikasa before the military? How is there a picture of her?" I asked him.

 _It doesn't make any sense._

"T-The thing was, that picture was just a random sketch of my imagination of an ideal girlfriend." Jean said quietly.

He then looked away in embarrassment.

I looked at him, dumbfounded at what he said.

"Yeah. I'm such a loser, aren't I?" Jean said, avoiding eye contact with me.

I just continued to stand there and stare at him.

 _Boy do I feel like an idiot._

Then, I started to giggle.

This took Jean by surprise.

"O-Oi. You promised not to laugh." Jean said, blushing from out of embarrassment.

"I'm sorry Jean." I said, still giggling. "I'm laughing at myself."

Now he was the confused one.

"Why are you laughing?" He asked.

"I'm just laughing at the fact that I was feeling jealous from a piece of drawing." I said

I put the drawing down and walked up to Jean.

"How silly of me right?" I asked him.

Jean wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in close to him.

"No. You're not silly at all. I think it's cute." He said.

With that, we both leaned in for a kiss.

Just when our lips were about to touch, Jean's bedroom door opened and Ms. Kirstein barged in.

"Jeanie, Eri. I have lunch ready. Why don't the two of you take a break from cleaning and come down to eat." She said with a smile.

Embarrassed, Jean and I immediately separated and looked at her.

"M-Mother! What did I tell you about coming in without knocking!" Jean yelled.

His face was really red.

"I'm sorry Jeanie. I tried calling you two earlier but I didn't think you heard me." She said.

"It's okay Ms. Kirstein. We're almost done cleaning so we'll join you in a bit." I said, giving her a wide smile.

"Okay. Don't take too long though. The food will get cold." Ms. Kirstein said as she left the room and headed back downstairs.

"She always embarrasses me." Jean whispered.

"I like her." I said with a smile.

"Of course you would." Jean said quietly.

"Come on. Let's go down for lunch." I said, grabbing his hand.

"Actually, you go down first." Jean said.

"Eh? You not coming?" I asked.

"In a bit. I just want to stay up here for a bit." He said.

"Okay. I'll see you downstairs." I said.

I opened the door and made my way downstairs for lunch.


	16. Table Talk

"Wow Ms. Kirstein, this looks amazing!" I said in excitement.

Ms. Kirstein made omelettes and had apples on the table as well.

"Thank you. _Omelettes_ are Jeanie's favorite." She said with a smile.

I took a seat next to her and smiled back.

"I didn't know that it's his favorite." I said.

"Yes it is. When he was a little boy, he would always sit here feeling excited about eating omelettes." She said.

I couldn't help but to laugh a bit.

 _That's too cute._

"What was Jean like before he left for the military?" I asked her.

Ms. Kirstein gave our a hearty sigh and a warm smile.

"My Jeanie would always cry over the littlest things. He was such a good boy when he was younger."

She looked so happy telling me this and then she gave a slight frown.

"Now, before he left, Jeanie would just stay in his room all day and I always had to come upstairs to call him down to eat. He doesn't talk to me like he used to. I know he's always yelling at me but he does mean well." She said.

I didn't say anything, just continue to sit there and look at her.

She then continued talking.

"About a few weeks before Jeanie left home, I fell extremely ill. Jeanie was such a sweet boy because he took care of me until I felt better." She said, smiling again.

"That's a good thing." I said, smiling back.

"I'm just extremely happy to see my Jeanie here visiting. I was so sad to see him go and I worry about him." she said.

"Don't worry Ms. Kirstein. Jean has been really good." I said, reassuring her.

"I'm glad to see that Jeanie has a friend like you." Ms. Kirstein said.

"Why's that?" I asked her curiously.

"I was worried that Jeanie wouldn't be able to make any friends. Seeing you made me feel very relieved." She said.

I felt my heart sank.

 _There's also Marco..._

"I-I'm not the only friend Jean had. There was another person." I said quietly.

"Oh. Really? Who was your other friend?" She asked.

"His name is Marco. He died." I said.

Ms. Kirstein had a sad expression on her face.

"Oh dear. What happened to him?" She asked.

"He died during the breach of Trost District." I said.

I tried my best not to cry.

"I see. Was Jean close with him?" She asked.

"Yeah. We all met on the first day of Military training and we've been friends since then. Marco and Jean were really close friends so when we found out Marco died, Jean didn't take it well." I said.

"I'm so sorry." Ms. Kirstein said.

"Jean is really a great person though. He helped majority of us make our way to safety when we were stuck in Trost District. He's also a very caring person. I think his friendship with Marco really changed his personality in a positive way." I said, smiling at her.

"I can see that you are also the reason why my Jeanie has become a changed man." She said with a wink.

"Eh? Really?" I asked her.

"Yes. Even thought I haven't seen him in three years, I can see the way Jeanie acts around you. You must be someone he really cares about." She said, giving me a big smile.

I couldn't help but to blush.

"I-I see." I stuttered.

"So." Ms. Kirstein said as she dragged out the word. "When will I see you and Jeanie getting married?"

I freaked out at her sudden question.

"G-Get m-married!?" I yelled out.

I could feel my face getting extremely red.

 _If Jean hears this, he'll probably be freaking out as well._

"I can see that the two of you are in love. I find it very cute." Ms. Kirstein said with another wink.

 _Now I'm starting to feel embarrassed at her words!_

I took a deep breath and calmed myself down.

"I don't know when we'll get married Ms. Kirstein." I said, picking up the apple and started rolling it around the table. "I do want to focus on an objective I had in mind for the past few years."

"And what is that objective?" She asked.

"I want to follow in my parents path. They also worked with the military and died five years ago." I answered.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry to hear that Eri." She said, putting her hand to her mouth.

"No need to apologize Ms. Kirstein. I've been able to take care of myself since then." I said, giving her a big smile.

Ms. Kirstein continued to stare at me and then stare at the empty seat next to me.

"Just like old times. I call Jean to come down and he still hasn't come down." She said with a sigh.

"I'm right here Mother." Jean said just as he entered the dining hall.

"What took you so long?" I asked him, curiously.

"Something." He said quietly.

"Well, come sit and eat with us Jeanie. We were waiting for you." Ms. Kirstein said, pointing at the empty seat.

"Okay."

With that, Jean sat down and we all ate our meal together.

* * *

"Thank you so much for lunch Ms. Kirstein. Your omelette was amazing." I said, bowing towards her.

Jean and I were standing outside of his home door, saying our goodbye to Ms. Kirstein.

"My pleasure Eri. Thank you for coming over with Jeanie." She said.

"It was very nice meeting you." I said, giving her a big grin.

"Same here. It was nice seeing you Jeanie." Ms. Kirstein said as she patted Jean's shoulder and wiped off some dust.

"Y-Yeah." Jean said nervously.

I looked at him and it seemed as if Jean was struggling with whatever he wants to say.

"I-It was nice seeing you Mother." He said quietly.

Ms. Kirstein gave a wide smile when Jean said that.

"I want the two of you to stay safe." She said.

"Don't worry. We will." I said, waving at her.

With that, Jean and I started walking.

"Goodbye Eri, Jeanie. I'll patiently wait for the two of you to get married!" Ms. Kirstein shouted as we kept walking.

I looked at Jean and he froze.

"W-What did she just say Eri!?" Jean questioned, freaking out.

 _Uh-oh!_

I just stared at him and stayed silent.

"O-Oi Eri! Did mother just talked about us getting married?" He asked.

I couldn't help but to giggle.

"Let's just say your mother and I had a nice and embarrassing chat." I said, still giggling.

"She can be so embarrassing." Jean said.

His face was getting red.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him close to me.

"Don't worry Jeanie. I won't embarrass you." I said, teasing him.

"J-Jeanie!?" Jean shouted.

This time, I started laughing loudly.

"I'm sorry. I can't help it! I tried my best at not making fun of your nickname! Jeanie is such a cute name!" I said between laughs.

"Eri!" Jean yelled my name.

I let go of his arm and started running away from him.

"Jeanie! Jeanie! Jeanie!" I kept shouting his nickname.

"S-Stop that!" Jean yelled.

His face was extremely red.

"Come on! I'll race you to the horses stables!" I said.

With that, I started picking up my pace to get a head start from Jean.

"O-Oi! Eri! Come back here!" I heard Jean shout from behind.

I ignored him and just kept running.

 _I really enjoyed my time at Jean's place._

 _Now, it's time for me to go home._


	17. A Day with Jean at Karanes District

As Jean and I were heading back to the horses stable, I noticed Eren along with Captain Levi and his Elite squad.

"Eri!" Eren called out to me when he saw me.

"Hey Eren! It's been a while." I said, looking at my friend.

 _I'm still amazed that he's here, alive and well right in front of me._

"It has. Did you join the Survey Corps?" He asked.

"Yeah. I did." I said, smiling at my friend.

"What about you Jean? Military Police?" Eren asked, turning his attention to Jean.

I looked at Jean as well and he was silent.

"No. I joined the Survey Corps as well." Jean said quietly.

Eren was shocked from hearing Jean's response.

"Y-You joined Survey Corps? Why? Did something change your mind from the Police?" Eren asked, still surprised.

I could tell Jean had a troubled look on his face.

 _Eren doesn't know about Marco..._ I thought to myself.

"Eren." I called to him. "Something happened at Trost District, when we were trying to reclaim it."

"What happened?" He asked.

I looked at Eren and gave our a heavy sigh.

"Marco died." I said.

Eren's eyes widened and he looked at us with disbelief.

"Marco's dead? How?" He asked.

"We don't know. Jean and I found his body when we were around East of Trost counting the bodies." I said, trying to hold in the tears that started forming in my eyes.

I could tell Eren was sad to hear the news.

"I can't believe it..." He said quietly.

The three of us were silent for a long minute.

"Eren." Jean spoke as we looked at him.

"Y-Yeah?" Eren responded.

"We all fought and died because we are told to believe in you. I want to make sure that Marco didn't die in vain. Are you sure you can help us win these battles?" Jean questioned.

I was surprise to hear this from Jean.

It sounded as if Jean was doubting Eren's abilities.

"I-I don't know how to answer that. I myself want to believe that I can help us win." Eren said, looking down.

"Eren, Can you please tell me how you obtained your titan power?" I started asking. "Armin told me that you got eaten by a titan. Yet, here you are, standing right in front of me, alive."

I reached my hand out and poked Eren's shoulder.

"I'm just as confused as you are Eri. I can only remember being inside the titans mouth and then, I woke up with Mikasa and Armin along with the Police trying to kill us." Eren said.

"You don't remember anything when you were a titan?" I asked him.

"Sorry Eri. No. It was as if I had a long slumber." Eren said. "I don't even know how I was able to obtain these powers."

"I see. What about when we were reclaiming Trost District? Armin mentioned that something went wrong. What happened there?" I asked Eren.

"Oh. That." Eren said and then paused. "According to Mikasa. I attacked her when I transformed into a titan. I don't remember doing that."

"Oi. You attacked Mikasa?" Jean asked in shock.

"Yeah. I did. Luckily, she wasn't hurt. But I feel bad." Eren said, feeling guilty.

"Have you seen Armin or Mikasa since then?" I asked him.

"No. I've been under strict supervision with Captain Levi and his squad." Eren said, pointing towards everyone else.

I looked at Captain Levi and saluted towards him while he nodded his head.

"Well Eren, no matter what, continue to fight for humanity. We'll get our revenge. I'll see you in a week." I said holding out my hand for a handshake.

"Right. We're fighting for the sake of humankind." Eren said.

He stuck out his hand and gave me a firm handshake.

"You too Jean. We'll fight hard, for Marco's sake as well." Eren said.

He moved his hand in front of Jean, asking for a handshake as well.

Jean stared at Eren for a bit before shaking it.

"Yeah. For Marco. Plus, I'm putting my full trust in you Eren. So don't let me down." Jean said.

We all looked at each other and nodded our heads with determination.

"Eren." Captain Levi called his name as he approached him. "Let's go."

"Okay." Eren said as he waved at the two of us and walked away with Levi.

Jean sighed.

"What's wrong?" I turned to Jean.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about Marco." He said.

"Oh. I see." I said, looking back at Eren and he, Captain Levi and his squad rode away on their horses.

With that, I grabbed Jean's hand.

"Come on. I want you to meet Cloud." I said, giving him a smile.

"Cloud?" Jean questioned.

"My horse!" I said excitedly.

* * *

"Hi Cloud. You miss me? Sorry I haven't taken you out for a ride in a while. I've been busy." I said, smiling at my horse.

I was petting his nose while Jean looked at Cloud.

"Didn't know you were a horse person." Jean said as he walked up toward Cloud.

"Well I guess you learned something new about me." I said with a grin.

Jean reached his hand out, attempting to pet Cloud.

At first Cloud neighed because Jean was a stranger to him.

"It's okay Cloud. Jean is with me." I said, brushing his hair to help him relax.

With that, Cloud stopped his stubbornness and allowed Jean to pet him.

I looked at Jean and he seemed at peace for a bit.

I couldn't help but to smile. It was nice to see Jean relax for a second.

"What is it Eri?" Jean asked, noticing that I was just staring at him.

"Nothing." I said innocently.

I picked up Cloud's saddles and prepared it on him.

"Ready to visit my home?" I asked Jean.

"Yeah. Let's go." Jean said.

With that, Jean and I hopped onto Cloud and we rode off the stable.

* * *

We traveled through the inner gates of Wall Rose and into Karanes District.

 _Boy it feels good to be back._ I thought happily.

I guided Cloud along one of the small bridges across the river.

We passed by a couple of houses and we eventually made a stop in front of my home.

"Here it is Jean. This is my house." I said, giving a wide smile at the sight.

"So this is Karanes District eh?"Jean said as he got off Cloud.

"Yup. My hometown." I said with pride as I got off of Cloud as well.

Jean looked at the scenery across from my home.

There, was sidelines of the river which is a sight I see everyday right out of my window.

"This is nice." Jean said.

"It is. I loved waking up in the morning and seeing the sun shine off from the waters." I said while patting Cloud's nose.

"Alright. Time for me to see what you're like." Jean said with a slight grin.

"Huh? What do you mean by, 'see what you're like'?" I asked, confused from what he said.

"I wanna see what you have inside your home." He answered.

I used a leash and tied it around a wooden pole in front of my house to keep him there then I walked up to my front door.

"Well, it's nothing much, it's a lot smaller than your home though." I said as I took out my key and opened the door.

The both of us entered and we took a look at the surrounding.

My home only has a single floor, no staircase going up or down.

The only thing I have here were my bedroom, bathroom, dining/kitchen area and an empty room.

As I looked around, I realized that it was extremely dusty due to the fact that I was away from home for a good three years.

"I should tidy up the place. It's really dusty here." I said with a slight chuckle.

"It's okay. I'll help you clean." Jean said.

"Oh! Okay!"

With that, Jean and I started cleaning my home.

We started dusting up my dining/kitchen area before we headed to the rooms.

"What's in your room?" Jean asked.

"Oh, nothing much." I said as I opened my bedroom door.

My room only had a big bed with a couch and a pile of dusty books in the corner.

"What a boring room." Jean said.

"Hey!" I shouted as I lightly punched his arm. "That's not nice."

"I'm kidding Eri." Jean said with a nervous laugh.

I approached the books in the corner and wiped off all the dust.

"I can't believe you have a big bed." Jean said.

"Actually, I shared a room with my parents. After they died, I got rid of my bed and kept my parent's bed. I sort of, rearranged my home after they died." I said.

"Really? What do you have in the other room then?" He asked.

"I'll show you." I said.

I put down the books and guided Jean to smaller room.

I opened the door and inside the room had a bench, desk, shelf full of papers and a big window.

"Wow. Whose room is this?" Jean asked.

"It used to be my mother's research room. Whenever she had time to come on, she would usually stay here to write down her notes based on her expeditions." I said, approaching the shelf and dusting off the stacks of papers.

"Have you read any of her notes?" Jean asked.

"No. She usually takes them with her when she leaves home. When she died, Captain Hange took possession of her notes. Which is why she's the new researcher." I answered.

"Then what are these stacks of papers?" Jean questioned, walking up next to me.

"Drawings." I said with a small smile. "She tends to draw pictures of titans that she sees whenever she's out on an expedition."

I picked up a few stacks and showed it to Jean.

There were drawings of different types of titans and there were information on each drawing of the titans.

She would write about their height, looks, and behavior.

"These are really detailed information about titans." Jean said.

"Yeah. My mom took her research really serious. Her and Captain Hange worked hard in trying to understand titans and where they originally came from." I said as I gathered the papers and put them away in the shelf.

"Didn't you have a locket from her?" Jean asked.

"Yeah. I did. My mother gave it to me before their final expedition. She told me that it had some crucial information about the titans and that she wanted me to hold onto it for safe keeping. Unfortunately, I can never know what's inside that locket. I gave my locket to Captain Hange. I'm pretty sure she's having someone trying to open it for us." I said.

"I see. Let's just hope it'll open soon." Jean said.

"Yeah." I agreed. "Well, let's continue cleaning my home. I don't want it to stay dirty."

With that, Jean and I spent a few hours cleaning up the whole place.

"Man, who knew cleaning can take up so much time." Jean said as he took a seat on a chair.

"Yeah. Especially since I haven't been home in three years." I said with a slight chuckle.

"Hey, let's go get some food." Jean said. "I'm pretty sure you don't have any food stocked."

"You're right. I emptied my food pantry before I left the military. We should go get something to eat since we'll be here for the rest of the week." I said and smiled.

"Alright. Let's go." Jean said as he got up from his seat and grabbed my hand.

I couldn't help but to smile.

I get to spend the rest of the week with Jean before our expedition.

* * *

"I miss the markets of Karanes District." I said with a happy sigh.

The sun was setting and it was beginning to get dark outside.

Jean and I finished our grocery shopping and we were walking across the bridge to my home.

We picked up some apples, eggs, bread, potatoes and meat.

"Your district is a lot different than mine." Jean said.

"Why you say that?" I asked.

"Everybody here seem nicer." He said.

"Eh? Really?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah. The shop keepers in Trost aren't as nice as yours. Especially the meat markets." Jean said.

"I see. Being here makes me feel like I'm living my life before the military." I said while giving a big smile towards Jean.

As we continued to walk across the bridge, I looked at the river and gazed at the peaceful sight.

"Your parents sure picked a nice area to live in." Jean said as he stopped walking, put down the box of food and leaned against the banister.

I did the same and leaned next to Jean.

"When I was living alone, I used to come here at night and just stare at the water. It helped me calm my mind when I wasn't ready to get over my parents' death." I said as I reached my hand out, pretending to grab the water.

"This sight is helping me calm my mind as well." Jean added.

I knew he was talking about Marco.

 _We're both still not over his death._

"I miss Marco." I said quietly.

"Me too." Jean said as he wrapped his arm around me. "Me too Eri."

Jean and I stayed quiet and enjoyed the scenery.

I looked at him and he was deep in thought.

 _I wonder if he's talking to Marco in his mind._ I thought.

"Let's head back. My mind is calm now." Jean said.

"Alright." I said with a light smile.

We picked up our box of food and headed back to my home.

We cooked a light meal and sat at a table to chat.

"You know, your mother's omelette was amazing." I said.

"Yeah. I guess so." Jean said.

"Oh Come on Jeanie. Your mother said it was your favorite." I said teasingly.

I could tell his face was getting red.

"E-Eri! Don't call me Jeanie!" He shouted in embarrassment.

I started laughing.

"Sorry. Ever since I first heard 'Jeanie', I'll be saying that to embarrass you." I said.

"W-What else did my mother say about me?" Jean asked quietly.

"Well..." I said, placing a finger to my chin. "She mentioned that you were a crybaby when you were younger. I thought it was really cute."

Jean's face was getting redder and scoffed in embarrassment.

"I swear..." He muttered to himself.

"Oh! She also talked about how you took care of her when she was ill. You're such a sweet son." I said in a hearty tone.

Once again, he muttered to himself but I couldn't hear what he said.

"My mother can be so embarrassing." Jean whispered.

"See, how hard was it to visit your mother? I know you resented your pre-military life but you should always be nice to your mother." I said.

"Yeah. Yeah. I know." Jean said.

I took a bite of my food and looked at him. He was spaced out.

"Hm? Something on your mind Jean?" I asked him.

"Yeah." He answered. "I was just thinking about you."

This time, I felt my face getting red.

"E-Eh? M-Me?" I stuttered.

"Yeah." Jean said.

He looked at me and then gave me a light smile.

"Thank you Eri." He said.

"For what?" I asked in confusion.

"For dragging me to come home. I probably would've never visited." Jean said.

"No need to thank me. I'm just happy I learned new things about your there." I said with a grin.

Jean gave out a heavy sigh.

"By the way, why did my Mother mention about marriage?" Jean asked.

I froze in my spot and didn't make eye contact with Jean.

 _That question Ms. Kirstein asked embarrassed me!_

"Well, she did mention about when she'll see the two of us get married." I whispered quietly.

I was hoping Jean didn't hear me but he did.

"I-Is my mother crazy!?" Jean shouted. "S-She still manages to find a way to embarrass me even when I'm not in the room."

"It was embarrassing to hear her ask that you know." I said with a slight chuckle.

Jean let out another sigh.

"At least she doesn't have to worry about me as much anymore." He said quietly.

With that, I smiled at Jean and we continued to finish our meal.

I picked up the dishes and started washing them.

"Here, let me help." Jean said as he walked next to me and dried the wet dishes.

"Thanks Jean." I said while he smiled back.

"It's the least I can do since you invited me to your home." He said.

"You're so sweet Jean." I said, smiling even wider.

"Don't tell anyone that I'm all nice and stuff. I'm only being nice towards you." Jean said with a hint of red on his face.

I couldn't help but to laugh.

"I won't." I said.

Once we finished cleaning the dishes, I stretched my arms out and gave out a yawn.

"Today was relaxing." I said after my yawn.

"It's getting late. We should get some rest." Jean said.

"Yeah. You're right." I said, rubbing my sleepy eyes.

I walked to my room and froze when I saw my bed.

 _Crap!_

 _I only have one full-size bed!_

 _Will Jean and I have to sleep together in the same bed!?_

I could feel my face flushing at the thought.

"Something wrong Eri?" Jean asked as he entered the room with me

"W-Well..." I started speaking quietly. "There's two of us and one bed."

"Oh." Jean said calmly.

I don't think he realized what I said until a moment later.

"Oh!" He shouted.

Now his face was getting red as well.

"Yeah." I said, feeling embarrassed. "What do we do?"

"I guess we'll have to sleep next to each other." Jean said as he walked up to my bed.

"W-What!?" I shouted, surprised at his calm tone.

"There isn't anywhere else to sleep. I'm sure it'll be fine." Jean said.

He walked back towards me and put his hand on my head.

He then leaned in and kissed my forehead.

"Jeez Eri. It's not like I'm gonna do anything to you." Jean said out of embarrassment.

His face was getting red again.

I stopped freaking out and looked at him.

"Sorry Jean. I-I'm just not use to having company over." I said, still feeling embarrassed.

"You'll have to get used to it if we're going to be together for a long time. Especially what my mother said." Jean said.

Now my face got red again.

 _Is he saying that we'll probably get married in the future!?_

 _"_ O-Oh.." I said quietly. "I-I can't believe you said that Jean..."

I placed my hands to my face, this blushing won't stop!

Jean walked me to my bed and we both sat down on it.

"Remember what I said back at the water fountain? I can't afford to lose you. I want to stay by your side no matter what. Once we're able to avenge Marco's and your parents death as well as saving humanity, we'll live a peaceful life. You and I together." Jean said.

My eyes widen at Jean's words.

 _Did he unwillingly make a proposal to me?_

"Really Jean?" I asked him, still surprised from what he said.

"Yeah. I promise." Jean said, giving me a light smile.

He then reached into his pocket and took out a folded piece of paper.

"Here." He said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Something I worked on in my room." He said.

I looked at him in confusion and took the paper.

I unfolded it and saw what Jean talked about.

It was a drawing.

Another portrait of a girl.

But this time, that girl was me.

 _He drew a picture of me._

"Jean? You drew a picture of me?" I asked, turning my attention to him.

"Y-Yeah. I threw out the old picture I had." Jean said.

"What? Why?" I questioned. It was a really nice picture too.

"That's because it was just my imagination of an ideal girlfriend. Now, I have you. So, this picture is of you, my real girlfriend." Jean said.

All shades of pink were on my face now.

I was speechless.

"This is really sweet of you Jean. Thank you." I finally managed to say.

"Anything for you." Jean said as he once again leaned in and kissed my forehead.

"I'm really happy that I've met you Jean." I said, not regretting a single word I said.

"Me too Eri." Jean said.

We both leaned in and gave each other a kiss on the lips.

"Now, let's get some sleep." Jean said.

"Okay." I nodded.

With that, I put the picture down and we both laid down.

Jean wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close.

At first, I felt embarrassed to be this close to him but then I extremely comfortable.

As I felt safe in his arms, I closed my eyes and went to sleep.


	18. The Start of the 57th Expedition

_For the remainder of the week, Jean and I spent our time together._

 _We mostly did cooking, cleaning and walks around the district._

 _We even talked about our days in Military training as well we our memories with Marco._

 _Of course, I didn't forget about taking care of Cloud. We even rode him outside of Wall Rose._

 _Overall I had a good mini break from the week._

 _Now, it's time to get back to reality and go to our expedition._

"Today's the day Jean." I said.

"Yup. It is." Jean agreed.

I was carrying a box of leftover food Jean and I had in my house.

I donated it to a local neighbor since I won't be coming home for another while.

After that, we both hopped on Cloud and made our way towards the Survey Corps headquarters.

"Good boy Cloud. I'll see you in a bit." I said, petting my horse and hopped off.

Jean and I were at the meetup area in preparation for the expedition.

"Ah, hello there Eri, Jean." Ness greeted us with a smile.

We both saluted towards him.

"Hello Squad Leader Ness!" We greeted.

"Today is the day. Here are your Survey Corp capes. Make sure you grab all of your gear and await for Commander Erwin's instructions." Ness said.

"Thank you." I said as Jean and I grabbed out capes.

As we both put them on, we were soon joined by our other friends.

"Yo! Eri! Jean!" Conny shouted as he approached us.

He was with Sasha, Reiner, Bertolt, Ymir, Krista, Armin and Mikasa.

"Hey Conny." I greeted him as we gave each other a hi-five.

Yo." Jean said.

"Don't forget about me Eri!" Sasha yelled as she ran towards me and gave me a tight hug.

"I-I didn't forget about you Sasha..." I said while trying talk through the bear hug.

"Hey, you're going to crush her you know." Reiner said.

With that, Sasha let go off me as I caught my breath.

"How was your week everyone?" I asked towards all my friends.

"Krista and I spent the week together! Gotta hangout with her as much as possible before our big day." Ymir said with a smile as she hanged her arm around Kirsta.

Krista didn't say anything, she only gave out a smile.

"Well, Sasha and I went to our villages to visit our family." Conny said.

"Yeah! I even go to eat some delicious meat!" Sasha yelled.

I couldn't help but to laugh.

"Jeez, all you ever care about is food Potato Girl." Jean said with a sneer.

"HEY! I HEARD THAT! DON'T CALL ME THAT NAME!" Sasha shouted.

"Whatever." Jean said as he looked away.

I lightly punched Jean's shoulder and glared at him.

"Be nice." I said, then I leaned in and whispered to ear his. " _Jeanie_."

Jean froze in his spot and shut his mouth.

I could tell everyone else was staring at us in confusion.

"What did you say Eri?" Armin asked.

"Don't worry about it." I said with a smile on my face. "Just something that I can blackmail Jean with."

"You're quite intimidating with that smile Eri." Reiner said.

"Oh! What did you and Bertolt do Reiner?" I asked him as I looked at the two of them.

As soon I made eye contact with Reiner, he immediately blushed and looked away.

"W-We decided to help around with the equipment setup." Reiner said.

"I see. Were you guys able to see Annie ever since she went to the Police?" I asked them.

Bertolt shook his head.

"No. We didn't have a chance to see her." Bertolt said.

"Oh." I said quietly.

 _I guess Annie's too busy to see them._

"Armin, Mikasa, did you two get a chance to see Eren this week?" I asked them.

They shook their heads as well.

"Eren is still with Captain Levi." Mikasa said.

"We haven't had the chance to talk to him since last month." Armin added.

"Oh. That sucks." I said.

"Do you guys think we'll be able to find something from Eren's basement?" Jean asked, going straight to the point.

Armin and Mikasa looked at each other and then made eye contact with me.

"I believe so." Mikasa said.

"Eren did say that his father mentioned something about the secrets on titans there." Armin said.

"How interesting." I said, placing a finger to my chin.

 _Mother has some vital information about titan's in my locket._

 _Eren's father hid some titan secrets in his basement back at Shinganshina District._

 _Is it possible that our parents may have met before?_

 _Maybe. Maybe not. It's a huge chance that they may have though._

"Eri? You okay?" Jean asked as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

I didn't realize that I was zoned out.

"Huh?" I said, snapping back. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

"You know." Conny spoke as he raised his eyebrows rapidly. "When did Eri and Jean get together huh? We deserve to know what happened."

Conny's question seemed to have caught everyone's question.

"Yeah! I had a feeling the two of you were together or something! EXPLAIN!" Sasha shouted as she and Conny leaned in close to me.

I looked at the two of them and then started blushing.

 _Where did this come from all of a sudden!_

I looked at Jean and he was blushing in embarrassment as well.

"It's none of your business!" Jean yelled.

Conny and Sasha glared at Jean.

"WE HOPE YOU'RE TAKING GOOD CARE OF ERI!" They yelled.

"SHUT UP YOU TWO!" Jean shouted back.

With that, Conny and Sasha went into some funny fighting poses and made martial arts noises towards Jean.

"Hey guys, that's enough." Armin said with a nervous laugh.

"Well, I think it's cute that you two are finally together." Krista said with a bright smile.

"Yeah! It's about damn time!" Ymir added in with her thumb up.

"Tch. You guys are annoying." Jean said looking away with his arms crossed

I just stood there with a nervous smile.

 _They are embarrassing me..._

I looked at Reiner and he was staring at Jean, then at me.

"Something wrong Reiner?" I asked him.

 _Oh right...Annie mentioned that he has a slight crush on me._

"Jean." Reiner called out to Jean.

"Hm?" Jean looked at Reiner.

"I hope you're being good to Eri." Reiner said glaring towards Jean. "Knowing how you are, I'm pretty sure you're a changed man and taking care of her."

I was shocked to hear that from Reiner.

"R-Reiner..." I said.

Jean glared back but then smirked.

"You're right Reiner. I am a changed man. It's all thanks to Marco. As for Eri, don't worry about that. I promise to protect her." Jean said as he looked at me.

I looked back at Jean and smiled.

"Thank you for caring about me Reiner." I said and smiled towards him.

Reiner once again blushed and looked away.

"D-Don't mention it." He said.

"Oi, Eri." Jean called out to me. "Don't forget to give those papers to Captain Hange."

I gasped.

"Right! I almost forgot!" I shouted as I reached in my bag and took out some papers.

I grabbed all the titan drawings my mother made that had information about them.

I believe these drawings would be good for Hange's research.

"Thanks for reminding me Jean. I'll be back guys!" I waved at them and ran off.

* * *

I was running towards the Survey Corps headquarters and turned a corner.

As soon as I did that, I bumped into someone.

"Oof!" I yelped as I fell to the ground and dropped the papers everywhere.

"You should be careful Eri." I heard someone say.

"Eh?"

It was a familiar voice. A female's to be exact.

I looked up to see that I bumped into Annie.

"A-Annie!" I yelled her name as I quickly got up.

"Hi Eri." She said.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, shocked and surprised to see her here.

"I know today's your expedition. I just came by to say good luck." She said.

"R-Really? You came all this way to say that?" I questioned.

"Yeah." She said, giving me an odd look. "Is that a problem?"

"N-No! I'm just still surprised to see you here." I said with a small laugh.

Annie looked at me and then looked at the papers across the floor.

She bent down and picked some up.

"What's all this?" She asked.

"Oh!" I bent down next to her and picked up the papers as well. "They're research drawings my mother did. Whenever she came back from expeditions, she draws pictures of titans she's encountered to keep information about them."

"I see. That's very interesting." Annie said as she continued collecting the papers.

Once the last sheet was picked up, I collected the rest from Annie's hands.

"Thanks Annie. Sorry for bumping into you though." I said, bowing down in apology.

"No need for an apology." She said.

"You know Annie, I'm glad to see you. I miss seeing you standing next to Reiner and Bertolt." I said, smiling towards her.

She still had her cold expression.

"I see." She said quietly as she looked away.

"How's the Military Police?" I asked her.

"It's fine." She said looking back at me. "Boring, but fine."

"Boring? Why's that?" I questioned.

"We've just been patrolling the streets so far." She said.

"You can always join the Survey Corps." I said.

"I'm fine." She said bluntly. "I like living a peaceful life."

"Oh. I see." I said quietly. "Well, I'm glad you're doing what you wanted to do."

I smiled towards her.

She still had her cold expression but then, it changed to a light smile.

"I see you still have my hair clip." She said, pointing at the clip on my hair.

"Right. It's been very useful ever since you gave it to me." I said, taking off the clip and examining it.

"That's good. Or else you would've been titan meat." She said.

I gave out a light laugh.

"Yeah. Thanks again for the hair clip Annie." I said, putting the clip back onto my head.

I could see Annie giving me a smile but her expression quickly changed.

"I should head back to the Police headquarters." Annie said.

"Oh. Alright." I said.

"Well, see ya. It was nice seeing you Eri." She said.

"Same here Annie." I waved at her and smiled.

Annie started walking away but then stopped her tracks and turned around.

"Eri." She said my name.

"Yeah Annie?" I asked, looking at my best friend.

"Want to grab tea after you come back from the expedition?" She asked.

I could feel my smile getting wider.

"Yeah! I would love that!" I shouted in excitement.

"Okay. See ya."

With that, Annie walked away as I turned around and made my way towards Erwin's office.

* * *

I knocked on the door and entered the room.

It was only Commander Erwin and Captain Hange in there.

I stood in front of the two and saluted.

"Hello Eri. We were just about to come down for the expedition. Is there something you need?" Erwin asked.

"Sorry Commander Erwin. I came here to give some paperwork to Captain Hange." I said.

"Me?" Hange questioned.

"Yes." I said as I walked up to Captain Hange. "Captain, I went home during the past week and came upon some paperwork my mother did for her research."

With that, I handed Hange all the drawings my mother did.

She and Commander Erwin looked through the paperwork.

"I didn't know she kept drawings of each titan she's seen. This is amazing Eri." Hange said with a smile.

"Your mother never cease to amaze me." Erwin said.

"Thank you Commander." I said.

"Well, I'm going to keep these here for safe keeping. We can take a closer look at them together later Eri." Hange said.

"Okay." I said, nodding my head. "By the way Captain Hange, has there been luck in opening my mother's locket?"

"Sorry Eri. We're still trying. We will let you know the moment we can unlock it." She said.

"Alright." I said.

"It's time you two." Erwin said as he got up from his chair and walked towards the door. "Don't forget, our real objective is to lure out the mole. Eren's going to be with Levi and his squad. They're going to be in the upper middle flank in case anything happens."

"Yes Commander Erwin." I said.

"Time to start the 57th Expedition." Erwin said.

* * *

We made our way back towards the meeting area.

Commander Erwin and Captain Hange made their way towards the front while I stood next to Jean and my friends.

I noticed that Eren and Captain Levi were also in the front, along with Armin and Mikasa conversing with Eren.

 _The three friends are finally back together._ I thought to myself happily.

"Good Day soldiers!" Commander Erwin said with his voice projected.

All the Survey Corp soldiers participating for the upcoming expedition stood in separate lines and saluted towards Erwin.

"Today is the day for our expedition. I hope you all enjoyed your mini break because the real thing starts now. I just want to remind you all that this will be dangerous. Our main objective is to travel en route to Shinganshina District to the home of Eren Jaeger and achieve secrets hidden in his basement. As you all learned from your instructors, our starting point is at Karanes District. You are all to stay in your formation given and follow the colored flares from your leading squads. Remember, we will be entering titan forest where the use of maneuver gears are a disadvantage. Now is the time we get our horses and make our way to Karanes District. You all follow my lead. Let's go!" Erwin instructed.

We all saluted once again and did what we were told.

Everyone officially geared up; maneuver device, blades, flare gun and colored smoke containers. We also saddled up on our assigned horses.

"Alright Cloud. Let's do this." I said as I saddled up my horse and hopped on.

I headed to my spot within the formation. I was near Jean, Armin and Reiner within the group.

Once everybody was ready and lined up, we all made our way towards Karanes District.

Commander Erwin and Captain Hange were in the very front of the formation. Behind them, I could see Eren, Mikasa, Captain Levi and his squad.

As we passed by the inner gate of Wall Rose and into Karanes District, there were a crowd of people staring at us as we make our way towards the outer gate.

Some people were cheering while others had looks of doubt. I even see children looking at us in amazement.

I couldn't help but to smile towards them.

 _It's almost as if I'm looking at myself when I was their age. That's how I acted whenever I see my parents come and go._

"The gates are opening!" I heard a Garrison soldier shout out.

I looked ahead and had a serious expression on.

"MOVE OUT!" Erwin shouted.

As soon as the outer gate of Wall Rose fully opened, we all darted forward one by one.

"The 57th Expedition begins now!" Erwin yelled.

We all made our way outside of Wall Rose and into titan territory.

 _My path as a Survey Corps soldier begins now._


	19. The 57th Expedition: Female Titan

We were now entering titan territory outside of Wall Rose.

Commander Erwin was leading us through an abandoned town just outside of the Wall.

Within a couple of minutes, a titan was spotted.

To our far left, there was a 10-meter titan hiding between some houses.

Luckily, we had the support squad which were in charge of killing any titan that gets in our way.

We let that squad handle their jobs as we continued to move forward and follow Commander Erwin's lead.

After a couple more minutes, we made our way out of the empty town and into flat lands.

I noticed Commander Erwin held his arm out and screamed.

"DISPERSE INTO THE LONG-DISTANCE ENEMY SCOUTING FORMATION!" He shouted.

With that, every soldier did what was told and started the formation.

"See ya Eri!" Reiner shouted as he steered to the right with his horse.

"Be safe Reiner!" I shouted back.

Reiner gave me a wink as he rode away.

I looked to my right to see Armin and Jean moving away as well.

"You stay safe Eri!" Armin shouted.

"Same to you!" I shouted back.

"Armin, try not to piss yourself when you see a titan!" Jean shouted.

"You too Jean!" Armin shouted as he slowed his pace for his formation spot.

"Eri! Be careful! Don't do anything stupid!" Jean shouted.

"Don't worry Jean! I'll be extra careful!" I said.

With that, I sped up on my horse and stayed in between the middle and right flank.

* * *

As I rode along in my spot, I observed the area and kept seeing flat lands.

 _Ness wasn't kidding when he said that we'll be at a disadvantage with the maneuver gears._

So far, so good. It seemed everything was going according to plan.

My surroundings were empty and not a titan in sight.

I took out my flare gun to have it ready just in case.

It was until then, that I saw the first smoke in the air.

It was a red smoke on the right flank, which held the search squad.

It meant that a titan was spotted.

Pretty soon, many more red smokes were fired into the air.

I immediately grabbed my red smoke can and fired my response.

After a minute, I saw a green flare which was fired from Commander Erwin's spot.

The green flare meant a change of direction in the formation. He fired it towards the West direction.

With that, the responses were given and I shifted towards the west in my formation.

It wasn't until fifteen minutes minutes has passed that I noticed something was weird.

 _I haven't seen a red smoke in a while._

 _Did something happen to the right flank?_ I wondered.

Just then, a black smoke was fired.

"W-What!?" I said in shock.

The black smoke meant that an abnormal titan was spotted. They're the type of titans that are harder to kill because they obtain unique skills that common titans wouldn't have.

I quickly grabbed my black smoke can and fired back in response.

Within a matter of seconds, I heard another flare fired.

I couldn't see where it was coming from so I kept looking around.

It wasn't until then that I realized the smoke was coming from behind, within the communications squad.

I looked to see that the color of the smoke was black as well.

"Another black smoke!?" I shouted to myself.

 _If it's coming from behind, that means it's coming from Armin's direction!_

 _Did Armin send that smoke? What happened to the formation!?_

Just then, a bunch of yellow flares were shot from the entire right flank.

"Yellow!?" I shouted.

Yellow meant that a mission was unable to be fulfilled or that they've been terminated.

 _What the hell happened with the right flank!?_

"Cloud, stop!" I yelled as I pulled to a stop and looked around.

I still see no sign of anyone near me.

I know for sure, everyone on my entire right side has probably been annihilated after seeing those yellow smokes.

Then, a yellow smoke was fired from far behind on the middle flank.

Judging from the position of our formations, it was definitely coming from Armin's direction.

I looked behind to see if anyone was coming from there, but to no avail, no one showed up.

 _What do I do? Should I keep going?_

Cloud started acting up. He was acting a bit jumpy.

"Cloud? What's wrong boy?" I asked, stroking his hair.

Cloud started neighing and moving around in fear.

"What's wrong Cloud!?" I started shouting.

He was really acting up. It was making me worried.

Just then, I heard the sound of footsteps.

It wasn't ordinary human footsteps, it sounded like that of a titan.

I can distinctly hear it from behind.

With that, I slowly turned around to see who was coming from behind.

Once I did, my eyes slowly grew wider.

There, I see a titan, probably around 14-meters, running towards my direction.

Cloud started freaking out.

"Let's go Cloud!" I shouted as I grabbed the leash and immediately rode straight ahead.

My eyes were still wide in shock.

It's a titan, running towards me.

As I turned my head to take a closer look, I realized that this titan was different than any normal titan.

 _This titan was female._

"A female!? I've never seen a female titan before!" I shouted to myself.

This female titan was running extremely fast, in which she was getting really close to me.

She had blonde hair and her skin was different than the common titans. Her skin was more of what a human body looks like without their flesh.

"Crap! I need to signal!" I shouted.

I reached in my pouch for a black smoke can.

I could feel my hands shaking.

 _Why do I feel scared?_

Once I got the can in, I quickly fired my shot.

Sadly, I didn't receive a response.

 _Where's Armin!?_

I knew his position was way behind mine.

Then it hit me, that female titan was coming from Armin's direction.

"My God...did she kill Armin?" I asked myself quietly.

I slowly turned my head and noticed that she was getting even closer to me.

 _What is this titan!?_

"Faster Cloud!" I shouted at my horse.

I could hear the Female titan's footsteps getting louder and louder.

Eventually, the Female titan was running right behind me.

I turned and looked at her with fear.

 _She's going to kill me!_ I thought to myself.

I'm at a disadvantage here!

Pretty soon, the Female titan took a big leap and hopped over me.

I looked up in shock and watched it all happen.

The Female titan stood right in front of me and kept running forward.

 _Did she just ignore me?_

 _Did that Female titan not notice me?_

 _What just happened?_

As those questions swarmed in my head, I realized that direction the titan was going to.

She was running towards lower, center flank. Which was where Eren is.

 _It's the mole!_ I yelled in my head.

 _This titan is most likely the mole!_

 _But how? How can a mole be a titan?_

 _Unless...this titan has a person inside like Eren?_

 _Is that possible?_

I immediately shook my head to stop my thoughts.

"I have to stop her!" I shouted.

With that, I gave a light whip on Cloud to indicate on going faster.

 _I can't let her get to Eren!_

 _My job is to protect Eren!_

I took out my blade the moment Cloud and I got closer to the Female Titan.

She was running really fast.

I stood on top of Cloud and thought a plan.

 _We're still in flat land so using the device is going to be risky._

 _What I can do is hook on her ankles, slash her Achilles tendon which will most likely bring her down and then I can slash the nape of her neck._

"Run to safety Cloud!" I screamed at him.

With that, I jumped up as Cloud moved away and immediately sent my hook towards the titan's ankles.

She had a quick _reaction_ and stopped moving which took me by surprise.

 _She's fast!_ I thought.

With my blades in my hands, I spun and tried to slash her ankles.

Without any affect, my blade broke in halves instead.

"W-What the!?"

I reeled in my hook and unloaded another one on her shoulder.

I flew my way up high and had a good view of the nape of her neck.

The Female titan seemed unfazed and didn't move from her spot.

 _Now's my chance!_

I released my broken blades and slid on the replacement ones.

With a clear view of her neck, I swung my arms back and spun my way towards her neck.

As soon as I was in good reach of her nape, her hand immediately blocked it!

Again, my blades broke.

"Oh no!" I shouted.

I looked to my right and see her other arm making it's way towards me.

 _She's going to hit me with that swing!_

 _Am I really going to die here!?_

Just when her arm was going to strike, she stopped her movement.

"Ah!"

There was a strong force of wind from her arm movement and it knocked me back to the ground.

"Gah!"

The moment I hit the ground, I rolled a couple feet away.

I could feel pain all over my body and felt some bits of blood streaming down my face.

 _I must've hit my head._

My hair was all over my face as well.

I tried sitting up and moved my hair away.

It was then that I noticed the hair clip Annie gave me was gone.

 _No! Where's my hair clip!?_

I frantically looked around for the hair clip until I looked at the Female titan.

She was kneeling in front of me.

I looked at her with my eyes wide open.

"A-Are you going to kill me?" I asked the titan.

The Female Titan wasn't paying attention to me and looked at it's hand.

I see my hair clip in her hand.

"W-What are you doing with that!? Give it back! Annie gave that hair clip to me!" I shouted at the titan.

The Female Titan finally looked and made eye contact with me.

As I stared into her eyes, I noticed they were blue. Her eyes showed a cold expression.

With her blonde hair and blue eyes, I took a better look at her face.

That cold stare was very familiar.

 _Too familiar._

It was almost as if I was staring into Annie's eyes.

"Why?" I began to question. "Why do you look like Annie?"

The Female Titan just stayed there and continue to stare at me.

"Tell me! Why do you resemble Annie!?" I yelled at the titan.

With that, all the Female Titan did was placing the hair clip next to me and stood up.

She then looked around and started running towards the center of the middle flank.

I continued to sit there in shock.

 _What just happened?_

 _This titan didn't eat me or try to kill me._

 _Instead, she gave me back my hair clip and left._

 _But she looked a lot like Annie._

 _Why is that?_

 _Why did she look like Annie?_

 _Could it be that Annie is in control of that titan?_

 _Is she the one responsible for the entire right flank and possibly Armin?_

 _Is Annie the mole Commander Erwin spoke about?_

 _No..._

 _I'm probably going crazy..._

 _There's absolutely no way Annie would do such a thing._

 _Plus, she's with the Military Police._

 _It's just a coincidence that this titan looks a lot like Annie._

I picked up my hair clip and looked at it.

 _She did look at my hair clip though._

 _It seemed as if she knew what it was or who I am._

 _But her cold stare, it was like Annie's..._

I clipped it back on my head and looked at my hand.

There was a lot of blood.

I must've hit my head really hard without knowing.

I looked at the Female titan and she was really far away now.

 _She's making her way towards Eren._

 _This is bad..._

I was starting to feel dizzy and my vision was getting blurry.

Soon, I felt my eyes getting heavy.

"Must...signal...help..." I said as I tried my best to stay conscious.

I opened my pouch and took out my flare gun along with a purple smoke can.

With my hands still shaking, I managed to get the can in and fired the shot.

 _Emergency._ I thought as I stared at the purple smoke.

Soon, I fell on the grass and closed my eyes.

 _Please. Someone come and save me._


	20. The 57th Expedition: Rescued

_The Female Titan was standing right in front of me._

 _I just stood there and stared back._

 _I was staring at her cold expression._

 _Then, I could see images of Annie's face planted on the titan's face._

 _"Annie!" I shouted out towards it._

 _The Female Titan continued to look at me._

 _All she did was just stare at me._

 _I could see the corner of her lips curl. Just like how Annie does it._

 _"Why Annie!? Why would you do this!?" I shouted._

 _I was ignored again._

 _This time, the Female Titan raised her arm._

 _She reached forward and grabbed onto me._

 _"Hey! Let go!" I screamed_

 _She raised me to her eye level and pulled me closer to her face._

 _"What are you doing Annie!?" I yelled at the Female Titan._

 _As I continued to stare at the Female Titan, Annie's face reappeared._

 _"Sorry Eri." Annie said._

 _With that, she fazed back to the Female Titan's face and she slowly opened her mouth._

 _I could feel her hand moving closer to her mouth._

 _"No! Don't eat me Annie!" I cried._

 _She ignored me and continued to put me to her mouth._

 _"Noooo!" I cried out._

 _Once I was fully in her mouth, the Female Titan closed her mouth and darkness was all over me._

* * *

I felt a pair of strong arms wrapped around me.

I could also hear multiple familiar voices shouting my name.

"Eri!" Said a male voice.

"Eri!" Said another male voice.

"Eri!" Said a female voice.

"Eri! Eri! Wake up! Please wake up Eri!" Said a male voice.

The last voice was shouting my name frantically, almost as if he was going to cry.

With the little strength I had, I slowly opened my eyes.

My vision was still blurry but I managed to get it back after a few blinks.

I looked at the person that was holding onto me and it was Jean.

"Jean?" I said his name quietly.

I was still feeling weak so saying Jean's name was the only thing I could do as well as keeping my eyes open.

Jean had a serious look of fear and concern on his face.

When he noticed that I was awake, his facial expression immediately changed to a look of relief.

"Eri..you're alive!" Jean said as his voice started to crack.

My entire body was still hurting and I could feel something hot streaming down my face.

"I'm alive?" I questioned.

I raised my arm up and touched my head.

I felt something wet.

 _That's right, I'm bleeding._

"Yes Eri. You're alive." Jean cried.

With that, he pulled me into a tight hug and started to cry.

"Thank goodness we found you Eri! I thought you were gone! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for not being here in time to protect you!" Jean cried.

I looked at Jean and placed my hand to his face.

"I'm so glad you found me Jean." I said weakly.

I looked behind him and noticed that Armin, Reiner and Krista were standing there.

 _They must've been the other voices I heard._

"Hey guys." I said, giving them a weak smile.

"Thank goodness you're okay Eri." Reiner said with a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad." Krista said as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"Are you able to move on your own Eri?" Armin asked.

"I should be." I said.

With Jean's help, I was able to get up without falling back.

"You're hurt Eri. Let me tend to your wound." Reiner said as he walked up to me with some bandages.

"Okay. Thank you Reiner." I said with a smile.

As Reiner was taking care of my injury, I looked at Armin.

It seemed he got hurt as well. His head is also bandaged up.

"Eri. What happened to you?" Jean asked.

"I bet that bimbo got to you as well. Right Eri?" Reiner asked.

"Bimbo?" I questioned in confusion.

"A Female Titan." Armin answered.

My eyes widen after hearing that.

 _That's right._

 _The Female Titan._

"Were you attacked by her Eri?" A concerned Krista asked.

I just stood there and zoned out.

 _That Female Titan._

 _She didn't try to kill me nor eat me._

 _She did however, resemble Annie._

 _Why?_

"Oi. Eri. Snap out of it." Jean said as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Sorry. It's just..." I trailed off.

 _I still don't even know what happened._

"I'm assuming she attacked you as well." Armin said.

"Yeah. She did." I said quietly.

"Here, I'm done." Reiner said as he tied the knot of the bandage and patted my shoulder.

"Thank you Reiner." I said with a weak smile.

Jean walked up to me and looked at my face.

"Are you able to tell us what happened?" Jean asked.

"Yeah. I can." I said.

Before I spoke about the events, I took a deep, heavy sigh to clear my mind.

 _Tell them everything._

 _But don't tell them about Annie._

 _It's probably crazy to even think about the resemblance of that titan and Annie._

With another sigh, I gave them a serious look and began talking.

"It started when I saw the black flares. I noticed that it was coming from Armin's direction, behind my position. I wanted to investigate what was going on, but, I saw that Female Titan running towards my direction at a fast pace. I knew she wasn't a common. She must've been some sort of titan with intelligence." I said.

I looked at my hands and they were starting to shake.

"I was scared. Seeing her coming at me from behind. I thought she killed you Armin." I said, looking at my friend. "Seeing the direction she was running towards, I knew she was heading to where Eren is. I thought maybe I could try and stop her."

"Then what happened?" Reiner asked.

"I tried slashing her ankles but it gave no effect. Then I tried to go for her neck. She was too smart. She managed to block it before I had to chance to cut her. It wasn't until then that I thought I was going to die. She was going to hit me but then she stopped. Instead, she let out some strong wind and it caused me to be where you guys found me." I said.

 _I decided to leave out the hair clip part. That's only between me and that Female titan._

"We were all coming from the direction where she came from. She attacked us as well." Armin said.

"Is that how you got hurt?" I asked him.

Armin nodded his head.

"We almost lost our horses, luckily, Krista found us along with our horses." Reiner said.

"Yeah. I was nearby when they fired the purple smoke. I'm just happy that we're all alive." Krista said with a heartwarming smile.

I couldn't help but to smile back. Krista is such a sweet girl.

 _Wait, Where's Cloud?_

"My horse!" I shouted. "Cloud! I lost Cloud!"

I placed my hands to my face.

 _I told Cloud to run away. Now he's gone._

"Don't worry Eri." Jean said. "Cloud's right here."

I looked up to see Jean standing next to Cloud.

I let out a big smile and ran towards my horse.

"Cloud!" I shouted as I hugged my horse.

I could tell Cloud was excited to see me as well because he was jumping in joy.

"Hey boy. How did you find us?" I asked as I stroked his nose.

"We tried to follow that bimbo." Reiner said.

"But Cloud managed to find us. Luckily, I recognized he was your horse. He seemed really scared when we caught him." Jean said.

"It wasn't until then that we saw the purple smoke you fired." Armin added.

"After seeing your horse and then the smoke, I knew something happened to you." Jean said.

He had a worried look once again.

"When we found you in the grass, unconscious, I was scared that the worse had happened." Jean said with a heavy sigh.

I couldn't help but to smile towards Jean.

 _He's really caring._

"I'm sorry for making you worry Jean." I said.

He grabbed my hands and squeezed them.

"It's okay. You're alive and safe. That's all that matters now." Jean said.

He looks really happy to see me.

 _I'm thankful he found me. Seriously._

My thoughts were soon interrupted with numerous amounts of green smoke fired in the air.

"What!? Green smoke!?" Reiner questioned.

"They're changing the direction of the formation." Armin said.

"Why? Shouldn't they order the sign for retreat? We lost the entire right flank and I'm pretty sure our formation has failed." Jean said.

I looked at the green smoke in the sky.

 _What is Commander Erwin thinking?_

 _Does he know that the Female Titan is making her way towards them?_

"What do we do?" Krista asked.

"We just have to follow Commander Erwin's judgement. We should get back on our horses and move." Armin said.

We all nodded and did what Armin said.

"Are you able to get on your horse?" Jean asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I said.

With that, we all hopped on our horses and moved towards the direction of the green smokes.

* * *

As we continued to move forward, Armin informed me that he witnessed Squad Leader Ness and his companion get killed by the Female Titan. It was theorized that she alone wiped out the entire right flank.

"Damn. She's a really tough one." I said.

"Yeah. But I also have another theory Eri." Armin said.

"What's that?" I asked him.

"I believe there's a person inside the Female Titan." Armin said.

My eyes widened in shock.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Just like Eren. We are facing someone who has the abilities to transform into a titan." Armin said.

 _No. Freaking. Way._

 _If what Armin said is true, then it is most likely Annie inside that titan's body._

 _Who else resembles the same look and facial expression!?_

 _Is is really Annie posing as that titan though?_

 _Would Reiner know something about it?_

I looked at Reiner and he noticed my staring.

"I-Is something wrong Eri?" He asked me.

"No. Sorry. I was just thinking about something." I said.

"If your theory is correct, what is this Female titan after?" Jean asked.

"I know what she's after." I said.

"What?" Krista asked.

"She's after Eren." I said.

"Eren!?" Armin questioned.

"Yeah. Commander Erwin told me that he suspects there's a mole in the military ever since the test subjects were killed. After my encounter with the Female Titan, I now believe that's the mole." I said, informing them.

"That's crazy." Reiner said.

"I know it is. But I do trust Commander Erwin's judgement." I added.

"Where do you think he's leading us to?" Krista asked.

"I don't know." I said.

"Maybe he has a plan to capture that titan." Armin said.

"Probably. I guess we'll find out later." Jean said. "To think, our formation has failed within less than an hour."

"It's okay. If Erwin doesn't order a retreat, then our mission has not failed." I said.

We all stayed silent and continued to ride our way towards the other squads

* * *

After a couple of minutes, we reached to the outer part of a gigantic forest.

"W-What is this forest?" Krista asked, staring in amazement.

"I think it's called the Forest of Giant Trees. It's also claimed to be the Titan forest." Reiner said.

"What are we doing here anyways?" Jean asked.

"I don't know. But Commander Erwin did lead us to come here." Armin said.

I looked around and noticed a soldier coming towards us.

"Report from Commander Erwin! You are all to circle around and meetup with the other squads at a certain point!" The soldier shouted.

"Okay! We got it!" I shouted back as the soldier pulled up and headed inside the forest.

"You heard him, let's go." Armin said.

With that, we avoided the forest entrance and circled our way around it.

Eventually, we came to a halt when we met up with another group.

We were then ordered to get off our horses and tied them around some trees.

"From here on, we're going get up on those trees and stop any titan that tries to enter this forest. Take our your blades and let's go!" Shouted one of the squad leaders.

"What? But Squad Leader, what is this for?" Jean asked.

"Keep quiet and do as your told!" Shouted the squad leader.

Without any further due, we all took out our blades and maneuver onto some branches high from the ground.

"Is he serious?" Reiner questioned.

"Just what the hell is happening." Jean said quietly.

"I don't know. But I believe this is part of Commander Erwin's plan to draw out that Female Titan." I said.

As we all took a spot at a tree branch, our group was eventually joined by the rest of our circle of friends.

We were all ordered to remain on the tree and stop any titan that tries to pass by.

So, we did just that. Standing at the tree in silence.

Waiting.

Just waiting.

I could feel my head aching.

I leaned against the tree and held my hands to my hand.

 _How long are we supposed to wait this out?_


	21. The 57th Expedition: Retreat

I don't know how much time has passed by, but it felt like forever.

We were all just sitting or standing on the tree in silence, just waiting for something to happen.

"It's pointless to just stand here and do nothing." I heard Jean whisper.

"Quiet Jean. The squad leader will hear you." I whispered back to him.

His tree branch was right next to mine so we were able to converse without getting caught.

"Sorry Eri. I'm just getting restless from just standing here doing nothing." Jean said quietly.

I gave out a sigh and looked around.

Up on these trees, we have Ymir, Reiner, Bertolt, Krista, Sasha, Conny, Mikasa, Armin, Jean and I. We also have other soldiers and recruits along with different squad leaders.

They had made us spread out along different sections of the trees within visual distances.

 _I'm just glad that all my friends are here, safe and sound._ I thought to myself.

"A 5-meter titan is approaching!" A soldier shouted.

Every one of us focused and examined the area ahead.

There, we see the variant titan type approaching the forest.

I looked at the squad leader for instructions but he wasn't saying anything.

 _What's wrong? Why aren't we given the order to kill it?_

The Squad leader remained silent and just glared at the titan.

Soon, the titan came to a stop at the trees and looked up.

The titan then tried reaching up, as if it thinks it's going to grab us.

I put my blades away and took a seat on my spot.

I hugged my knees to my chest and started thinking about the Female Titan again.

 _That dream I had earlier._

 _I don't know why I even dreamed it._

 _The look of that Female's face, I can imagine a picture of Annie's face over it._

 _It's really crazy of me to even think that there's a connection between this titan and Annie._

 _But, according to Armin's theory, he mentioned that it's most likely a person inside the titan's body._

 _Since this titan is a female, it's a girl inside there._

 _Which most likely means that the mole Commander Erwin is targeting is definitely a female._

 _Is it Annie though?_

 _If so, why would Annie go after Eren?_

 _Is it because he has the titan abilities?_

 _Is it for the secrets in his basement?_

 _Or something else?_

 _No._

 _I refuse to believe it's Annie._

 _There absolutely no way it could be her._

 _Annie would never do such a horrendous thing._

 _Kill all those soldiers who are our allies._

 _Why would she do that?_

 _I know Annie can be cold to others but she was really kind to me._

 _She's my best friend for crying out loud!_

 _But she did return my hair clip._

 _That hair clip is only something Annie knows since she was the one to give it to me in the first place._

 _I remember that Female titan looking at the hair clip. She had a look as if she knew what it was._

 _If Armin knows for sure that there's a person inside the Female titan, does that mean he has a suspicion of who is in that body?_

I turned my head and looked at Armin.

"Eri, look down." Armin whispered.

"Hm?" I stared at Armin at first but then looked at the ground.

I gasped.

I didn't realize that we were already swarmed by titans below.

"W-When did they get here?" I asked in shock.

"I don't know but I don't think it's necessary to do anything." Armin said.

"Why's that?" I questioned.

"Look at them Eri." Jean said. "They're trying to reach for us. I assume this is our way of preventing titans from entering the forest."

I could feel sweat coming down my face.

 _There's too many titans around us._

I could feel my hands shaking again.

 _Why do I feel fear?_

 _Am I getting scared of common titans?_

I think my encounter with the Female Titan has caused some sort of trauma inside me.

I'm feeling scared now since then.

I held my hands together to stop the shaking.

Just then, I could head faint sounds of gun fire or explosions.

 _What is happening inside the forest?_

 _Is Commander Erwin trying to capture the Female titan?_ I thought to myself.

"Eri! Move to another branch now!" Jean shouted.

My thoughts were interrupted with Jean shouting towards me.

I looked to my far right and noticed that a titan was climbing towards us.

With my device, I maneuvered away from the titan along with the rest of the group.

"Damn. They're getting better at climbing." Jean said.

"This means they're capable of learning." Armin added.

"Yeah. They are." I said quietly.

I looked at the titan as it struggled it's way through trees.

Soon, a tree branch broke beneath it and we watched the titan fall straight to the ground.

"How much longer are we going to be up here?" Jean said impatiently.

"I don't know. But from the sounds of those cannons deep in the forest, I think they're in the works of capturing that titan." Armin said.

"Probably capturing whoever is inside that body." I added.

I looked at the ground to see that the titan was squirming on the ground after it has fallen.

 _These titans are capable of learning new things._

 _Just what are they to be exact?_

All of a sudden, a loud cry was made throughout the forest.

It was extremely loud that I had to cover my ears to prevent myself from going deaf.

"W-What the hell!?" Jean shouted.

"What's that noise!?" Armin shouted, covering his ears.

I remained silent and continued to shut my ears.

It sounded like a titan was crying.

"I-I think it's the Female Titan! I think she's crying!" I shouted.

Just then, all the titans that were swarming around us, started running deep into the forest.

Jean, Armin and I were surprised to see this sudden change.

"What the hell!? They're all heading into the forest!" Jean shouted.

The swarm of titans completely ignored us and continue to head deep into the forest.

"Why are they ignoring us?" I questioned.

"Something must've happened in that forest." Armin said quietly.

"We should stop them..." I said as I took out my blades.

My hands were still shaking.

 _My mind and body must still be scared after what happened earlier..._

"No Eri. We can't stop them. There's just too many of them heading deep into the forest." Jean said.

I looked down to still see titans running in.

"What the hell was that cry for..." I whispered to myself.

After a few minutes of silence, there were blue smokes coming from the forest.

"Blue smoke?" Armin questioned.

"They're telling us to retreat now?" I asked

"What? Is it over already?" Jean questioned.

The three of us stood there and stared at the colored smoke.

 _Just what happened in there?_

 _Did Commander Erwin succeed in capturing the Female Titan?_

 _What about Eren? Is Eren okay?_

"Get back on your horses! We're retreating back to Karanes District!" One of the squad leaders shouted

We did as we were told and immediately jumped on our horses.

I patted Cloud's nose and hopped on.

* * *

We all regrouped and rode along the side of the forest to head back to the flat land.

"If we're retreating, does that mean the operation to capture that titan was a success?" Jean asked.

"I'm not sure. If they did, then we would know whose inside that titan's body." Armin said.

 _If so, it could be Annie._ I thought sadly.

All of a sudden, I noticed green smoke coming deep within the forest.

After that, a response came from a short distance.

I was shocked to see the green smoke.

 _Why is there green smoke?_

 _There's no way it's coming from Commander Erwin._

 _Something is wrong._

 _I can feel it._

I looked around at my friends and noticed that someone was missing.

"Guys, where's Mikasa?" I asked around.

"S-She went deep into the forest by herself." Sasha said.

"What!?" I shouted as I looked at Sasha.

I turned my head to look back at the forest.

 _Mikasa's in there!_

 _Something must've happened to Eren._

* * *

As soon as we reached to flat land, we all came to a halt.

We were told to wait for Commander Erwin and other soldiers to regroup with us as well as identifying our fallen comrades.

So that's what we did for the next hour or so.

Corpses were piling up as people were wrapping cloths around them so we could bring them back through the walls for a proper funeral.

I saw Squad Leader Ness's body among the count and watched his body being wrapped up.

"Eri, let's bring his body to the wagon." Jean said.

"Okay." I said quietly.

Jean and I picked up Ness's body and carried him to the wagon.

We placed his body on top of the others.

"This is something I'll never get used to." Jean said.

"I don't think any of us ever will." I said sadly.

I breaks my heart to see that countless soldiers died from this expedition.

"I wonder if this was even worth it. Our expedition was a fail." Jean said.

I couldn't say anything.

Jean was right.

I heard from other soldiers that we failed to capture the mole within the Female Titan. Along with that, we're unable to even move forward to Shinganshina District.

 _Too many people died._

 _Was it all worth it?_

I could tell I was starting to doubt.

This is what my parents faced every time they go outside the walls.

 _How horrible._

"Eri." Jean said my name.

"Yes Jean?" I asked, looking at him.

"Will we be able to live a peaceful life?" He asked.

I didn't say anything. All I did was just stare at him.

"If this is what we signed up for, how will we be able to live life knowing that our comrades most likely died in vain. I mean, is what we're doing even worth it?" Jean questioned.

I could sense that he had doubt as well.

"Jean..." I said his name quietly. "No matter what happens. We must continue to live and fight because one day, humanity will win. We'll all be able to live peacefully. I hope."

I walked up to him and held his hand.

"What if..." He started speaking but then paused. "What if we die next time? Or if one of us actually does die?"

I knew Jean was thinking about what happened earlier.

It must've been agonizing for him to see me on that grass, hurt and unconscious.

"I promise you Jean, I will not die. Same thing for you. You will not die. We're both strong soldiers." I said, squeezing his hand. "Remember, we're fighting for Marco's sake as well. We cannot let his death be in vain."

"You're right." Jean said as he took a deep breath and sighed. "Marco..."

I looked around and found Captain Levi up ahead.

"I'll be back Jean. I need to speak to Captain Levi." I told him and stepped off the wagon.

I walked towards Levi and saluted towards him.

"Hello Captain Levi." I said.

He didn't say anything. Only nodded back.

"What happened in the forest?" I asked.

"We failed to capture her." Levi said in a cold tone.

"Oh. Are you and your squad okay?" I asked.

He looked at me and then shifted his gaze towards four wrapped up bodies at a nearby wagon.

"There they are." He said, pointing with his eyes.

I gasped at the realization.

"I'm sorry Captain Levi." I said sadly.

 _Levi lost his Elite squad._

 _He must be devastated._

"Don't apologize. There's no reason to. They helped protect Eren." He said coldly.

"Where is Eren Captain?" I asked him.

"He's over there." Levi said, pointing at a different wagon.

I see Mikasa sitting in there. Eren might be resting in that wagon.

"Okay. Thank you Captain." I said as I saluted him and headed towards them.

"Mikasa." I said her name.

"Hi Eri." Mikasa greeted me as she looked down at the unconscious Eren.

"What happened to Eren?" I asked, concerned about my friend.

"It was that Female titan. Eren tried to fight her but lost." Mikasa said.

"He fought her as a titan?" I asked.

She nodded her head.

"I witnessed it. Eren lost to her and got eaten through the nape of the neck." She said.

I looked at Eren with my eyes wide.

 _Eren fought her. Yet, he still lost._

"Captain Levi and I managed to get Eren back. So we don't know where she is or who she is." Mikasa added.

"I see."

I stepped onto the wagon and touched Eren's forehead. It was really hot.

 _He's got a fever._ I thought.

 _Is that an outcome after transforming into a titan?_

I looked up to see Commander Erwin making an announcement.

"Everyone. We reclaimed all the bodies we could. There are no titans in sight. We need to head back to Karanes District immediately." He said.

With that, everybody saddled up their horses and started the to move.

* * *

Jean, Armin and I were placed in the rear of the retreat back to the wall.

Also in the rear were the wagons of dead bodies and injured soldiers as well as a wagon that was holding Eren. Mikasa's horse was next to Eren's wagon as well.

During our ride back, one of the soldiers noticed something from behind us.

"Crap! Titans!" He shouted.

Without any hesitation, he immediately fired a red flare.

I turned around to see two variant type titans running after us.

"They're getting pretty close to those wagons." Jean said.

"Using our devices are no good in this type of environment." Armin said.

Just when the titans were getting close, one of them caught a soldier and slowly brought him to it's mouth.

Another soldier stopped his horse and tried to save his comrade.

"I'll save you!" Shouted the soldier.

We just kept riding along since the second titan was gaining on us.

This variant titan was running in an unusual way. It's arms were crossed and it's legs were spaced out when running.

I looked at Mikasa and she immediately pulled back her horse.

She was going after the titan that grabbed the soldier.

"Mikasa!" I called out to her.

"Someone needs to save them!" She yelled as she rode her way back as fast as possible.

I looked back at the titan and it swallowed the guy it grabbed.

The other soldier tried to kill the titan but was grabbed in the process.

Just as he was about to be eaten, Mikasa maneuvered her way and killed the titan.

"It's gaining on us!" A soldier on the wagon shouted.

The weird running titan was running really fast, almost catching up to the wagon of injured soldiers.

"They're going to die!" Jean yelled.

I looked at the wagon and then the titan.

 _We must kill it._ I thought.

"Jean. I'm going to kill i t." I said.

"What!? That's suicide Eri!" He yelled.

"Trust me! I know what I'm doing!" I shouted.

With that, I whipped lightly at Cloud and made my way towards the titan.

"Alright boy, keep following those wagons and come back to me once I'm done." I told Cloud as I patted his head.

I took out my blades.

Once again, my hands were shaking again.

 _This is no time to fear titans._

 _I need to get over that trauma._

 _I must save those wounded soldiers!_

With that, I jumped out of Cloud and pushed the button.

The hook grabbed onto the titans ankles and I reeled myself in towards the tendons.

I swung back my blades and slashed those tendons.

The weird running titan fell to the ground as I ran along it's back.

I jumped in the air, swung my blades back and spun into the nape.

I slashed off it's neck as the titan died.

I quickly jumped off and started running forward, awaiting for Cloud to return.

"Cloud!" I called out to him.

As Cloud ran back towards me, I put my blades away and hopped back on.

"Nice job Eri!" Mikasa commented as she rode along side me.

"Thanks. Same to you Mikasa." I said.

We both sped up to catch up with the others. Mikasa made her way back towards Eren's side and I with Jean.

"That was impressive Eri." Armin said.

"It was nothing. This is what I do when I want to save people." I said.

I looked at Jean.

I thought he was going to be mad at me. But he wasn't.

"You did a good job Eri. As stubborn as you may be, you're a tough soldier." Jean said.

I just continued to look at Jean and gave him a warm smile.

* * *

We finally reached back to Wall Rose and entered Karanes District with disappointing looks.

A swarm of civilians within the district crowded around and they didn't look happy one bit.

We all walked through slowly as I see people giving us looks of disgust as well.

I can even faintly hear some whispers among the crowds.

"There's fewer of them than this morning." One voice said.

"A lot of them must've died in vain." Snorted another voice.

"I heard this mission failed badly." Said another voice.

I gritted my teeth and held Cloud's leash tightly.

 _They don't know how it feels to be outside those walls..._

"Ignore them Eri." Jean said coldly. "It's not like they're any better. Just ignore them."

I looked at Jean. He had an angry look on his face.

"ANSWER ME ERWIN! WERE ALL THOSE DEATHS FOR NOTHING FROM THIS EXPEDITION!?" One of the civilians shouted.

The crowds soon turned angry and shouted words towards us and Commander Erwin.

They kept screaming if Erwin had an empathy.

I also heard shouts of people claiming to lose support in us.

I tried my best to not get angry.

 _It really annoys me that people are acting this way._

 _We all fought our best. We all did as much as we could to bring success._

I looked towards Mikasa and the wagon.

Eren was awake.

He had his arm over his face and I could see tears streaming down from them.

 _Eren..._

 _He must feel a heavy burden in his chest right now._

I looked at the crowd and noticed two children by their window.

They both had smiles all over their faces.

I could even hear what they were saying.

"How cool! The Survey Corps are back!" One kid shouted.

"Yeah! Even though they are hurt, they still did their best! I can't wait to be like them when I grow up!" Shouted another kid.

Different types of emotions started swarming through my mind.

 _That was how I was when I was young._

 _I acted like that whenever I saw my parents return from their expeditions._

 _Is this how my parents felt whenever they came back from a failed operation?_

 _Have they always lived through this suffering feeling?_

 _If so, I can't handle it._

I looked at my hands and they started shaking again.

 _I can't get this feeling out._

 _This feeling of fear with that Female Titan._

All of a sudden, I felt tears streaming down my face.

I tried wiping them away but they just kept falling.

 _I failed._

 _I failed to stop that Female Titan._

 _I failed myself._

 _I failed my parents._

 _I failed to even call myself a soldier._


	22. The Secret Meeting

_A day has passed since the expedition and we were ordered to go home._

 _Because of the failure of our expedition, all the Captains and Commander Erwin were ordered to show up for court within a few days._

 _Along with that, we were told that Eren is to be escorted in the hands of the authorities as well._

 _I was told that the Military are fighting for custody over Eren's titan abilities._

I returned to my small home in Karanes District and spent my day in depression.

All I did was lay in my bed and replayed the events of yesterday in my head.

I looked at my hands and they weren't shaking this time.

I heard the door open and Jean entered the room.

He came back with me when we were dismissed. I didn't even speak to him last night, just went straight to bed. As for this morning, I knew he stepped out of the house but I wasn't sure where he went but now he's back.

"Eri. Are you still sulking?" Jean asked quietly as he stood by the door.

I didn't answer him. I looked at him with a blank expression and rolled over to face the wall.

I could hear Jean letting out a sigh and the sound of footsteps came closer to the bed. I could feel the pressure on the mattress as Jean laid down next to me in silence.

I continued to stare at the wall, thoughts still swarming in my head.

 _Is Annie really the mole?_

 _Is she the one behind the Female Titan?_

 _I don't know._

 _Should I believe in these crazy ideas that comes to mind?_

 _Probably, probably not._

"Oi, Eri." Jean said my name in a serious tone.

I finally turned around to come face to face with Jean. He had a serious look on his face but changed to a softer expression.

"Yo." He said, in hopes of lightening up my mood.

"Hi." I said quietly, still not in the mood to talk.

"What's with you?" He asked. "You've been quiet ever since we got back inside the wall. I even noticed that you were crying yesterday."

Jean had a concerned look on his face.

"What's bothering you Eri?"

He placed his hand on my cheek and looked into my eyes.

I gave him a faint smile, moved away from his hand and sat up on my bed.

He did the same and just looked me at with that worried look of his.

This feeling of depression overwhelmed me when we returned to Karanes District. Those disappointing faces got to me. The sight of children looking up to us Survey Corps Soldiers. I was depressed because I considered myself as a failure of a soldier. Plus, never in my life have I ever felt fear from a titan and that Female Titan did just that to me. She really had me believing that I was going to die.

 _What's worse is that my brain is convincing me that Annie is the one behind that Female Titan and I know my stubborn self is refusing to believe it._

Still sitting up, I looked at Jean and he was just staring at me with those light-brown eyes of his. A look of concern still on his face.

I took a deep breath before finally speaking.

"Sorry for worrying you Jean." I said. "I'm just very depressed."

Jean relaxed his facial muscles and gave me another soft expression.

"Tell me what's on your mind. I can't read your mind." He said.

I didn't say anything. Just continued to gaze into his eyes.

I looked down at my hands and noticed that they started shaking again.

"I feel like I failed." I said quietly.

With my hands still shaking, I slowly clasped them together to stop the shaking. Doing so just caused them to shake a bit more. I know Jean noticed this but didn't do anything. He just stared at my hands and then returned his gaze towards me.

"Failed? From the expedition?" Jean questioned.

"Yeah. I feel like I failed to stop the Female Titan from getting to Eren. I feel like I failed to understand why this is all happening..."

I could feel my voice cracking and tears forming in my eyes.

"...I feel like I failed my parents who are watching over me. I let that Female Titan attack me when I should've gave my all to kill her. I just let her escape..."

I gripped my hands really tight, not caring that I was digging my nails into my skin.

"...I let that Female Titan bring fear into me. She could've killed me when she had the chance, but she didn't. I just sat there and let her look at me with those cold eyes. I even had a nightmare about her before you guys found me..."

Now, tears began spilling down my cheeks. My voice choked up as I continue to vent out.

"...I don't know why, but my hands won't stop shaking in fear. I feel scared. This feeling of fear makes me feel like a failure as a soldier. I failed those children who looked at us with determination. What's the point of going through all of this? How were my parents able to live this feeling? How is Commander Erwin able to handle this? I don't deserve to call myself a soldier."

I held my hands to my face and started bawling my eyes out.

Jean just sat there. I don't know how he's reacting but I could tell he's probably shocked at the words that came out of my mouth.

I continued to cry into my hands when I felt Jean's arm wrapped around my shoulder. He pulled me close as my face landed on his chest. He then started rubbing my back and arm to comfort me.

I could hear him groan in annoyance. "Eri. Stop crying."

I moved my head away from my hands and looked up to meet his eyes. I wiped away some of the tears and took deep breaths. Some tears escaped from the corner of my eyes and Jean brushed them away with his thumb. He then leaned in and pecked my forehead.

"Don't be stupid Eri." Jean said. He was giving me a serious look, possibly a look to tell me to stop crying.

I looked at him in confusion. _How am I being stupid?_

I didn't realize that Jean looked seriously annoyed. Probably from me being all depressed and quiet while he just sat here and stared at my weak self the entire day. It wasn't long until I noticed Jean snapped.

"You are not a failure Eri. So don't hate yourself and be all depressed in that corner. Who cares if you were feeling scared? It's normal to feel scared! Who gives a crap about what those people think of us!? They don't know how it feels to be outside those walls! As for that stupid titan, what if you didn't get to stop her? Armin, Reiner and I weren't able to stop her as well! And because of that, you got hurt in the process! If anyone should feel like a failure, it should be me! I failed to protect you! I thought you were dead okay!? So, No! You didn't fail anyone! You're a strong soldier! You were still able to save people even though you were feeling fear! You're a brave warrior okay Eri!? So please! Stop feeling sad! Learn from our expedition so that we can all do a better job next time!"

As soon as Jean finished yelling at me, he let go of me and put one hand to his face. He was trying to calm himself while taking deep breaths.

I felt really bad. I must've really upset him now. This always happens, my stubborn self finds a way to make Jean upset.

 _I've been really selfish of my own feelings that I never considered to understood how Jean felt the whole time. I'm here, moping like a baby and Jean is suffering as well. He's been suffering ever since Marco died. He just never showed the hurt and despair inside in him. Through his selfish-tough acts, he's been deeply caring and worried about me. Meanwhile, I always play hero and put myself into danger for the sake of others, not caring about my outcome. I made Jean worried about me too many times and all I could do is say sorry and put it all behind. He's constantly telling me that he worries about me and I brush it off like I'm immortal or something. I should seriously appreciate Jean more._

I looked at Jean and he still had his hand over his face, eyes closed. It seems he's deep in thought, bothered from the yelling he just did.

I reached out and moved his hand away from his face.

Jean looked at me in confusion. A single tear seemed to have escaped from the corner of his eye.

 _He was trying to hold back his tears..._

I held onto his hand and squeezed them. Then, I held my hand on his cheek and spoke.

"I'm sorry for making you upset Jean. I've been so selfish with my own thoughts that I never considered your feelings. I know you're suffering as well and kept it all inside you. I guess seeing me acting like a baby must've really annoyed you. Even I'm mad at myself for acting so weak. I know you worry about me all the time whenever we're separated. I'm sorry for making you see the way I was when you found me in the flat lands. I should've taken better care of myself. You've been very good to me Jean. I really appreciate that."

With my hand still placed on his face, I couldn't help but to smile at him.

I could feel Jean's face getting warm and red. His eyes still met with mine, refusing to look away.

"S-Sorry for yelling at you Eri.." He started speaking quietly. "It always troubles me when I see you like this, upset and all. Makes me feel like I failed my duty as a boyfriend."

With that, Jean looked away in embarrassment. Come to think of it, we never labeled ourselves as _boyfriend_ or _girlfriend._ I can understand why he feels shy now.

"Don't worry about me anymore. I'm fine now. It's all thanks to you. At first, I was troubled with all the stuff that happened but now I feel better after talking to you. You're not a failure as a boyfriend. In fact, you've taken great care of me. That's something you can tell Reiner. Okay Jeanie?"

My smile widened after saying that to Jean. I don't feel upset and depressed anymore.

"J-Jeanie!?" Jean stuttered. His face flushed again and stared at me in embarrassment.

I couldn't help but to chuckle. I got the mood to poke fun at him again.

Jean was no longer embarrassed and smiled back at me. Then, he placed his hands on my face and gazed into my eyes.

"That's the Eri I know and love." He said.

"Eh?" Now it was my turn to feel flushed across my cheeks and embarrassed.

Jean gave out a sly smirk and leaned towards my lips. With my eyes closed, I felt his warm lips touching mine. Our simple kiss soon turned into passion. Jean placed his hands around my waist while I wrapped my arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. What seems like forever finally ended when Jean broke off the kiss. I backed away from him and placed my fingers to my lips. I could feel my face flushing from the passionate kiss.

"I love you Eri." Jean said with a grin.

"I love you too Jean." I said, grinning back.

Jean got up from the bed and fixed his clothes.

"You should get dressed Eri." He said.

"Hm? Why? Do we have to go somewhere?" I asked.

He nodded his head as he tousled his hair.

"I went out this morning when you were still moping in bed. I bumped into Armin at Trost and he said that we are having a secret meeting tonight."

I looked at Jean in confusion. "Secret meeting? Do you know what it's about?"

At first, Jean looked as if he didn't want to answer my question. He looked at me, fighting with my own thoughts whether or not he should say.

"It's about the Female Titan. Armin figured out who it is." Jean said.

My eyes widened in shock. I then fixed my composure and looked at Jean with a serious look. "I see. Let's go."

 _The identity of the Female Titan is going to be revealed. Let's just hope my instincts are wrong._

With that, I got up from my bed without another word and changed to my uniform. Jean and I headed out and got on our horses.

"I'll lead us there. Armin told me the location of our meeting." Jean said.

I nodded my head and allowed Jean to lead the way.

* * *

We traveled through the flat lands of Wall Rose and Jean led us to a castle like building.

I observed the building, amazing at the it's architectural structure.

"Wow. What is this building?" I questioned.

"It's the old Survey Corps headquarters." I heard a voice say.

I turned around to see Commander Erwin, standing at a distance with Armin and Mikasa next to him.

Jean and I saluted towards them as they did the same.

"Are you ready for the meeting?" Armin asked, looking at me.

I swallowed my saliva and looked back at Armin. _He knows that I know._ "Yeah."

"Captain Levi and Eren are waiting for us inside. Let's go and discuss about our objective." Erwin said.

I'm entirely sure what's happening with this meeting, but I know it isn't going to be pretty.

As we entered the building, Commander Erwin led us to a basement and we entered the area.

"Sorry we're late." Erwin said as he closed the door and looked at Levi and Eren.

I looked at Eren and he seemed surprise to see us. It seems he's unaware about the point of this meeting.

"Why're you guys here?" Eren questioned.

Commander Erwin looked at me, and then at Eren. "Eri, please have a seat next to Eren."

Without any hesitation, I did what I was told. I walked up to Eren and sat next to him. Everyone grabbed a seat around the table while Eren continued to stare at each of us.

"Eri, what is this about?" Eren asked.

"I can't answer that because I don't know myself." I said, half lying. I do know the topic will be about the Female Titan, but I assume everyone else in this room knows the real identity of the female titan except for Eren and I.

"Eren, Eri. We had a separate meeting in he morning." Erwin said.

I looked at Jean and he remained quiet, avoiding eye contact with me. _That must be the reason why he had to step out. They had a separate meeting without my knowing._

Erwin cleared his throat before continuing. "We found someone we believed is the Female Titan. This time, we'll capture her without fail."

From my peripheral vision, I could tell Eren was surprised to hear this. I just sat there in silence, listening to Erwin speak. A map of Stohess District was handed out around the table to discuss of the plan.

"The operation that's in plan will carry out in two days, the same day we make our appearance in the capital. We're going to capture the female titan in Stohess District. This is our final and only opportunity to do so. If we fail, Eren will be handed over to the authorities and we'll lose custody of him. I'm putting our entire reputation through this operation."

I looked at Eren. He seemed really stiff, trying to take in all the information that is about to be given to us.

"...This is the plan, Eren will act as a decoy through Stohess District, leading the female titan to an underground passageway. Once inside the passageway, it will give the female titan limited space to transform, thus, making her vulnerable and our people will capture her there. If she manages to turn into a titan before Eren has a chance to bring her underground, then you'll have to fight her in your titan form Eren."

Commander Erwin looked at Eren. I could tell that he is putting full trust in Eren on this operation.

"Yes sir!" A nervous Eren shouted.

I looked back at Erwin. "Sir, what makes you think that we would be about to draw out our target in Stohess District?"

 _Is the female titan there right now?_ I wondered.

Erwin lowered his head and looked at me eye level. He had a serious, determined look on his face before he answered my question. "Yes Eri. Our target is a member of the Military Police."

I gasped at his words and held my hand to my mouth. Thoughts immediately swarmed in my mind as I try to keep my composure in tact.

 _God. Please. No._

 _NO. NO. NO. NO. NO._

 _It seriously cannot be Annie._

 _Please don't say Annie's name. Please let me be wrong about Annie._

"The Military Police?" A surprised Eren asked.

"Yes. Armin was the first one to figure it out." Erwin said, pointing at my friend.

I slowly turned my gaze towards Armin. He had a serious look as well and met my gaze but didn't say a word to me.

I reached for my hair clip, snapped it off and started twirling it around with my fingers in nervousness.

 _Please let my instincts be wrong._

"We believed the female titan is the one who killed the two test subjects." Armin spoke, this time changing his facial expression to a sad one. "And she graduated with us from the Cadet Corps."

This time, Eren gasped and my eyes widened.

 _No..._

 _No..._

 _NO..._

 _Not Annie. Not her._

Eren's eyes widened and I remained silent. "What!? J-Just wait a minute..."

Erwin was unfazed by our sudden shock and continued speaking. "She was in your top class. We believe the female titan is a woman named..."

 _It felt like I let time froze._

 _I looked at everyone's faces._

 _All of my friends except for Eren had an uncomfortable look._

 _Don't say it Commander Erwin!_

 _Don't say Annie's name!_

 _It's not her!_

 _Please!_

Flashes of the Female Titan and Annie's face passed through my mind. Putting the two faces together, they were one.

With my eyes still wide, I could feel my hands shaking again. I didn't want to hear it. I don't.

" **Annie Leonhart** "


	23. Denial

"We believed the Female titan is a woman named **Annie Leonhart.** "

I had a strong grip on the hair clip but dropped it once Commander Erwin said the name.

 _Annie Leonhart._

 _He said it. Annie is the Female Titan. My best friend is the one responsible for all those deaths in the expedition. Why did my instinct had to be correct!?_

Eren looked at each of us, shocked to hear the name as well. "Annie is the female titan?"

Everyone was silent. We all ignored his question. I just sat there, frozen in place, trying to take it all in and accept the truth. Unfortunately, I can't. My brain is refusing to believe that it's Annie even though my gut knew it was her all along.

 _Why does it have to be Annie?_

I picked up my hair clip from the table and tightened my grip again before looking at Armin. "Armin. How did you know it was Annie?" I asked my question very coldly.

I knew Armin was surprised by my tone of voice but answered it calmly. "When she attacked me during the expedition, she didn't kill me. She looked at my face, recognized who I was and spared my life. She even tried to kill Jean when he attacked her but I mentioned about our fallen comrades, your fallen friend, Marco the most and that prevented her from attacking..."

I looked at Jean, eyes wide. _I didn't know she tried to kill Jean.._

"...Plus, I had a feeling she was suspicious ever since our devices were investigated for the killing of the titans. I stood next to her during the examination. If she used her own device, that would deem her guilty right off the bat..."

Armin paused, looking at me with an apologetic look. It was a look of 'you're not going to like what I'm about to say.'

"If her devices was investigated, why didn't she get caught?" Eren questioned.

With the same look on Armin's face, he spoke something shocking. "That's because Annie submitted Marco's device for the inspection."

I let out a loud gasp. I looked at Jean's direction and he had an angered look on his face.

Thinking back to the day Jean and I discovered his corpse, I recall not seeing the device around him. It was just his body.

Still in shock, I gripped onto my hair clip tighter as I readied myself to ask a question. "H-How did Annie get a hold of Marco's device?"

Armin lowered his head in sorrow. "We don't know. There's a high chance that she may have something to do with his death as well."

Just then, memories of my discussions with Annie jumped into my head. It made me realize why Annie was acting so weird ever since I told her about Marco's death...

* * *

 _Everything weird thing Annie spoke about came rushing into my mind..._

 ** _"I'm sorry Eri."_**

 ** _"I am truly sorry about your loss."_**

 ** _"I know how much he means to you. Therefore, I'm really sorry."_**

 ** _"What if one of your closest friend did something terrible to you? Would you still consider them as a friend?"_**

 _I also recall something Reiner said to me..._

 ** _"She witnessed a comrade get eaten alive when we were killing off the remaining titans at Trost District...this fallen comrade was a friend of someone she knows..."_**

* * *

I felt a sudden headache forming from my wound.

I held my hands to my head, with my elbows on the table for support. I could feel myself on the verge of screaming and I tried my best to hold it all in.

"E-Eri..." I heard Eren call out to me.

I ignored him and continued to have a war with my thoughts.

 _You're so stupid Eri! You should've known it was Annie right from the start! That's why she's been acting weird! She was the reason why Marco got eaten by a titan! She let that happen to him and watched the whole thing! You should've have told her about Sonny and Bean! You shouldn't have told her about the expedition! She just used you for information! A tool! Why were you two friends to start with!? Why couldn't she just brush you off!? Why do you have to be so stubborn and be nice to people!? Annie should never have been trusted!_

My thoughts were interrupted with the sound of Commander Erwin's voice as he called out my name. "Eri Sotomayo."

I slowly turned my head to look at him, hands still holding onto my head and eyes will wide in shock.

"I was informed by Armin that Annie Leonhart is your best friend. Is that true?" He asked.

I moved my arms away and nodded my head. I sat there, emotionless. I was speechless. Words would not form in my mouth.

"Is there any other reason as to why it is believed she's the female titan?" Captain Levi asked, feeling impatient.

"I think Annie looks like the female." Mikasa finally spoke, then she looked at me. "And if I think so, I'm sure you had a feeling all along Eri."

I remained speechless. If I say something, it might be words to defend Annie.

"Eri..." Jean called out to me quietly as he looked at me with concern in his eyes.

With my emotionless self, I turned to look at Eren. He's not willing to accept the truth also.

"A-Are we really going to go through with this plan? What if we were wrong, what if Annie isn't the female titan?" Eren asked, still in denial.

"It's a risk we're willing to take." Erwin answered bluntly.

"So? What else is in plan for this operation?" Levi asked, bringing us back on tangent.

Erwin looked at our faces before speaking again.

"While our operation is at hand, Captain Levi and I will be transported to the Captial along with a fake Eren. That fake Eren will sit inside the carriage to prevent the Police from getting involved from that section of Stohess District. With that, Armin, I want you to speak to Annie and request for her to escort with Eren. You will tell her that the objective is to help Eren escape from the Military."

"Yes sir!" Armin said.

"This decoy mission will be escorted by Armin Arlet, Mikasa Ackerman and Eri Sotomayo. Make sure everything goes according to plan." Erwin said, looking at the three of us.

Armin and Mikasa answered to Erwin but I just stared at him.

 _He wants me to be there for Annie's capture?_

"Eri. I suspect that Annie Leonhart will be more comfortable if she hears that you'll be accompanying her." Erwin said.

"Y-Yes sir.." I said quietly.

Erwin nodded his head, pleased to hear my response then turned his attention to Jean. "Jean Kirstein. I'm assigning you to be Eren's doppelganger when we are escorted to the capital."

Jean was shocked to hear that. I know for sure he's not happy either because Jean still dislikes Eren.

"M-Me?" He questioned.

Erwin nodded his head once again. "You are the one only here that resembles Eren's looks. We will give you a wig to disguise yourself as him. Is there a problem?"

"No sir."

"Good. Is there any questions for this operation?" Erwin asked, eyeing each one of us.

Everyone stayed silent, refusing to say a single word.

"We will begin the operation in two days. Dismissed."

Everyone rose from their seats and proceeded to leave the area. I was the only one who remained seated. All I did was play around with my hair clip. I'm still struggling on accepting the information. Accepting the truth.

"Ready to go home Eri?" Jean asked me, standing behind me.

I didn't bother to turn to him. I just glued my eyes on the hair clip as I responded. "I'll come out in a bit. I need to be alone for a second."

I don't know what facial expression Jean is showing but I heard his footsteps moving away and out the door.

As I continued to stare at the hair clip, I reminiscence about our training days. I started thinking back to when she gave me the hair clip.

* * *

 _"Here."_ _Annie said_

 _She took something out from her pocket._

 _It was a hair clip._

 _She tossed it to me and I caught it._

 _"A hair clip?" I looked at her in confusion._

 _"The only reason why I was able to flip you easily was because your hair was in the way. Use this hair clip. It'll help prevent you from being titan meat when we confront them." She said._

 _I was happy at the fact that Annie was being so kind to me._

 _"Thank you Annie." I smiled and placed the hair clip on my head._

 _Now my hair won't get in the way anymore._

 _I looked at Annie and noticed the corner of her lips curl up a bit but then she went back to her cold, quiet look._

 _"Don't worry about it." Was all she said._

* * *

It was nice seeing Annie smile for a bit that day. That was the day I became close friends with Annie. Being friends with Annie brought a small smile to my face.

Then, I thought about my encounter with the Female titan, basically Annie. After I was attacked, I remembered seeing her titan self holding onto my hair clip. I remember making eye contact with her. Her cold, blue eyes, staring at me. She knew it was the hair clip she gave me. She probably saw how much I cherished that hair clip. It probably saved me from getting killed as well.

"Why..." I whispered quietly. "Why Annie..."

I picked up the hair clip with a tight grip.

"Why Annie!?" I screamed as I threw the hair clip to the side.

I was expecting the sound of the hair clip crashing to the ground but it was silent.

"Oi. You should watch where you're throwing this thing." Said a voice.

I turned my attention to the voice to see Captain Levi, standing there with my hair clip in his hand. Since I didn't hear the sound of the hair clip hit the ground, there's a slight chance I may have hit him with it.

I gasped and quickly stood up from my seat.

"Ah! I'm so sorry Captain Levi! I wasn't looking when I threw that!" I said, frantically bowing towards him.

Levi looked at me with his cold stare and then tossed the hair clip back to me. I caught them and just stared at it in my hands.

"Do you find this like a nightmare?" Levi questioned.

I looked at Captain Levi, surprised to hear this sudden, random question.

"Y-Yeah. It does feel like a nightmare and it's painful for me." I answered quietly.

Captain Levi walked closer to me and stood right in front of me. He stared me down, making me uneasy.

"Nobody wants to die too fast. All we can do is remember the day of grief." He started speaking. "This may be strange, but remember their faces, their voices. It's the only way we can get on with life. It's the only way that helped me move on from my fallen comrades."

I looked at Levi. I'm surprised to hear this coming from him. I actually never had a real conversation with him so this is new and weird to me.

 _"_ Remember their faces? Voices?" I questioned.

An image of my parents flashed in my mind. I can distinctly hear their voices. _"We love you Eri. Stay safe and stay strong."_

Then, an image of Marco came into mind. I could see his short black hair, his light brown eyes and the freckles on his face. I can imagine Marco smiling at me, giving me a thumbs up. _"I'm rooting for you two!"_

Tears of joy streamed down my face from the positive memories. I instantly wiped them away and put up a smile.

"Thank you Captain Levi. For those positive words. I was able to think of happy memories."

He turned around and started walking off before responding. "Just paying respects to old friends of mine."

With that, he left the room, leaving me alone. I smiled at Levi's last sentence. I knew he meant my parents. It made me glad to know that my parents were good people to the Captain's of the Survey Corps.

I opened my hair clip and placed it back in my hair. I finally left the room and headed outside the building. Everyone else was gone and it was just Jean, standing there with our horses.

"You okay now?" Jean asked.

I didn't say a word, I only nodded my head and gave Jean a small smile.

"I know it's hard Eri. Would you be able to go along with the plan?" Jean asked as he put a hand on my head.

"Yeah. I'm willing to go along with the plan." I said, grabbing his hand away from my head and holding onto it.

"Okay. Let's go home." Jean said.

With a slight nod, I hopped on Cloud as we made our way back to Karanes District.

* * *

"Jean?"

"Hm?"

We were both already lying in bed together, Jean's arm wrapped around me as he held me close to him.

"Are you mad at Annie?" I asked him.

Jean was being quiet the entire time when the discussion about Annie being the Female Titan was brought up. Knowing that Annie is truly behind Marco's death, I'm sure Jean would be upset.

"Yeah. I am. I know she's your best friend, but after hearing Armin talk about Annie holding Marco's device in possession, I can't forgive her." Jean said sternly. "It's unforgiving that foul play was involved in his death. He could've still been with us. We could've continued to be a trio. He died too soon."

Jean held me closer to him, squeezing me tightly. He then loosened up and stroked my hair. I could hear him click his tongue in annoyance. _It does break my heart that Annie is the one behind Marco's death. Or possibly, it's theorized that she's behind it._

"Eri, no matter what happens with the plan, please be extra careful. Seeing how she was during the expedition, she's a really dangerous character." Jean said.

I moved my head and looked up at him. His eyes were staring deep into mine. I could tell he was being worried about me again. _He probably knows that I'll be doing something stupid again._

"I'll be extra careful Jean." I said, reassuring him.

Jean placed his hand behind my head and placed his lips on my forehead.

"We will live a peaceful life Eri. I promise you that." He grabbed my hand and locked our fingers. "There'll be a day where all of this madness will be over and we can start a family together, name our son 'Marco' in remembrance of him."

I felt my face flush at his words. _Start a family. Have a son together..._

"Y-Yeah." I said in embarrassment.

"Everything will be okay Eri. We have that idiot who can help bring humanity one step closer to freedom." Jean said, planting another kiss on my forehead. "Let's get some sleep. You got something to do tomorrow?"

I looked up at the ceiling as I made a sudden decision in my mind. "Yeah. I'm going to pay Annie a visit tomorrow."

I could hear the sound of Jean being shocked and surprised by my words. "Visit Annie? What for?"

"We promised to have tea together. I want to at least hangout with Annie before the big day. Spend time with my friend one last time." I said, not regretting my sudden decision.

Jean let out a heavy sigh, more like a sigh of defeat. He knew he couldn't protest with me. He knew that I go through the decisions I make.

"Just be careful alright" He said, neither as a question or a statement.

With a slight nod, I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

 _It's time I pay Annie a visit and have a friendly chat with her._


	24. Tea Party

I made my way to Stohess District through Wall Sina and headed towards the Police headquarters. There were many recruits from other Cadet Corps surrounding the building, probably doing their rounds of patrolling the district. Among the many crowds I passed by, I finally found Annie, crowding around a group of young soldiers.

I took a few deep breaths and thought some words to myself. _It's okay Eri. Just grab tea and have a nice friendly chat with Annie._

This _will most likely be your final moment with Annie before her capture._

I slowly stepped forward and approached the group of people. I tapped on Annie's shoulder as she turned around to see my smiling face.

"Annie!" I shouted her name in joy.

Annie's eyes widened, surprised to see me but she quickly changed back to her usual cold expression.

"Eri? What are you doing here?" She said, giving me a questionable look.

I looked at my best friend and frowned at her.

"You forgot about our tea date Annie?" I said, questioning her memory.

Annie only blinked a few times and then the corner of her lips curled for a second.

"Sort of. At least you're here now." She said nonchalantly.

Annie looked around, glaring at the eyes that were towards the two of us. I could faintly hear her Police mates whisper among each other.

 _"What is she doing with a Survey Corp member?"_ Said one voice.

 _"Who does that girl think she is? Does she know who we are?"_ Whispered another voice.

 _"Annie should know that we have other important things to do than make friends."_ A third voice whispered.

"Are you free for our friendly tea date now?" I asked, forcing a smile and ignoring the weird stares I was receiving from the other Military Police recruits.

Annie continued glaring at the numerous set of eyes and finally responded. "Yeah. I guess so. Let's go."

With that, Annie stepped away from her crowd. They all gave Annie a shocked look, as if they are surprised to see her hanging with someone like me. I glared at the crowd as they turned their attention towards me. They all seemed to look at me with disgust, like as if I was a titan or something.

 _This is the crowd Jean and Marco wanted going to_ _join?_ I thought to myself in disgust.

"You are all welcome to join me outside the Walls." I said in a serious tone. Of course I didn't get a single response. I pursed my lips and then responded, "I thought so. Cowards." I then stuck my tongue out towards them and followed Annie.

* * *

"You didn't have to say anything to them you know." Annie said as she took a sip of her tea.

Annie led me to a local tea shop within Stohess District and the two of us sat at a table together, enjoying our cup of tea.

"I know but I didn't like the looks they were giving. It disgusts me at their snobby looking attitude." I said, sipping my tea. "I don't get how you like your life as a Military Police. If I were there, I would probably get myself into a lot of trouble."

I looked at Annie and she was just looking down at her tea with her cold expression. She didn't respond to my comment and stayed silent. I didn't bother to say anything so I patiently waited for Annie to break the ice.

"I heard your expedition was a fail. Is everyone alright?" Annie asked. She finally looked up and made eye contact with me.

I kept my cool and made my poker face. I can't afford to let her see the look of fear, pain or suspicion on my face.

"Yeah. We didn't even make it past the Forest of Giant Trees. All of our friends are safe but we did lose hundreds of soldiers out there." I said, circling my finger around the ring of the cup.

Annie took another sip of her tea and then asked me another question. "What happened out there? I can clearly see you got hurt."

She asked her question in a cold tone. She didn't even bother to sound worried. It still breaks my heart to know that she's the one behind all of this.

I touched the bandage that was wrapped around my head and gave a small smiled towards my best friend. "You may find this weird, but we were attacked by a really special variant like titan."

Annie raised her eyebrows, obviously trying to act confused. "Why do you mean?" She asked.

I looked into her eyes, giving her eye contact and started explaining;

"We discovered a Female Titan during our expedition. She was responsible for the death of our fallen soldiers. That titan had really high intelligence. She knew to cover the nape of her neck and manages to defeat Eren in their titan fight. When I encountered the Female Titan, I tried to kill her, but she attacked me."

With my eyes still fixed on Annie's, I tried to see some sense of emotion in her, but I don't see anything. It's still that cold stare of hers.

"She didn't kill you?" She asked, trying to sound surprised.

I shook my head and took the hair clip out.

"Shockingly, no. For some strange reason, that Female Titan looked at me and moved forward. I also almost lost this hair clip you gave me because it fell off from my head when I was attacked. She even looked at the hair clip and gave it back to me. I found it to be really strange at the Female Titan's behavior. Before I could do anything else, I passed out from my head injury. Ever since then, I never saw that Female Titan again." I explained, twirling the hair clip around.

Making eye contact again, I noticed Annie's face showing a sense of guilt for a split second but she was fast enough to fix her composure.

"Did..." Annie started speaking but gave a brief pause. "Were you able to find out on any information about that Female Titan?"

I tightly gripped onto my hair clip. _She's most likely asking if we discussed on our suspicions on whose behind the whole fiasco._

"We did discuss about her..." I said, pausing mid-sentence and putting the hair clip back on my head. "...but there wasn't anything else we could talk about. Commander Erwin did attempt to capture the Female Titan for our research but she escaped."

"I see." Annie said as she set down her empty cup on the coaster.

I've been trying not to be suspicious around Annie. If I do, then she'll know that something is going on. Let's just hope she thinks this is just a serious friendly tea party.

"What is your opinion on this Female Titan?" Annie asked.

"Eh?" I looked at my best friend, surprised to hear her ask that question.

"Well, I don't really know what my opinion is. I just want to know why she attacked us or where did that titan come from." I said, looking at my empty cup of tea.

"Why don't you know?" Annie asked, this time, sounding really curious.

I continued to stare at my empty cup. _I really don't know what to say. I can't blurt out that I know it's her. It'll basically ruin the entire operation._

"Honestly, I don't know how to answer your question." I responded, looking away from the cup and back at Annie's face.

There was silence. Annie and I just stared at each other, unable to take a sip of tea because our cups were empty. Annie blinked first and gave out a small sigh.

"Armin approached me before you showed up today." Annie said.

"Eh? About what?" I questioned, pretending not to know what she was talking about.

"He request that I aid in your escort mission tomorrow, helping Eren escape from the Police." Annie said.

She looked at me suspiciously. _Annie probably thinks that something is going on._

"Oh yes. We plan on helping Eren escape through this very district while we have someone else being a decoy with Commander Erwin and others. Did you agree to help?" I asked her.

Annie looked away and gazed at her tea saucer. "At first, I didn't want to help but he convinced me to do it."

I looked at my best friend, heart pounding a bit fast. _She's going to get captured. What if Annie's actually innocent?_

"I-I see." I stuttered. "Why didn't you want to do it?"

She was still staring at the saucer, picking at the little chipped corner of it, as if she was trying to resist whatever was in her thoughts.

"It's too troublesome. Plus, it's none of business. I honestly don't care what's going on in your Military business. He could've asked someone else to help." She answered.

I studied her face once again. I have a strange feeling in my gut that she's very suspicious about this escape plan. _Maybe I should say something to get her out of this situation._

"Your welcome to change your mind if you want to." I said directly.

 _I know I'll get into deep trouble for trying to get her out of this. Honestly, I don't even know if it is worth throwing EVERYTHING away for our friendship. I want to protect my friends. Annie's my best friends. Tomorrow is going to be Annie vs. The World. I really don't want to choose sides, but I really want my friendship with Annie to last. If only she wasn't the one we all suspected._

"Thanks for that offer but I'm still doing it. Armin insist that I help you guys." She said as she rested her chin on the back of her hand and rested her elbow on the table. "It's the only way to get him to stop pestering me."

I held my hands together under the table. I could feel them starting to shake once again.

 _Annie...if only you know what's really happening tomorrow. I'm scared that something bad will happen to the both of us. I'm scared of knowing the truth. I'm scared if our friendship will end after tomorrow._

I took a deep breath, stopped my shaky hands, looked at my best friend and forced a smile on my face.

"Remember that day, when I bumped into you and brought that piece of bread for you?" I asked suddenly.

She gave me a weird look from this sudden question. "Yeah? Why do you ask?"

"You asked me a question that day. You asked, _'What if your closest friend did something really terrible to you? Would you still consider them as a_ _friend?'_ " I asked, determined that she remembers this.

Annie continued to look at me and burrowed her eyebrows, probably confused on why I'm bringing this up. "Yes. I remember."

"I have an answer to that." I said, giving her a warm smile.

 _Let's hope what I'm about to say will prove that my denials are right._

"No matter what terrible thing my closest friend does, I will find a way to forgive them. It may be tough at first, they'll be anger, sadness and such. In the end, I will forgive my friend. As long as I get a full explanation on why this terrible deed was done."

With that, I placed my right hand over my chest and looked at Annie sadly. "Does that answer your question Annie?"

I studied Annie's facial expression. I could see her fighting her emotions. She looks as if she wanted to cry and she unwillingly let a single tear roll down her cheek. She immediately wiped it away and fixed her composure to her cold expression once again.

"Sorry, something went into my eye." Annie said, in which I knew it was a lie. "Yeah. I guess that answers my question."

Just seeing Annie like that broke my heart. I myself can feel emotions swarming in my mind again. _I want to cry out for my friend. I want to ask Annie, 'WHY?'._

Before I could think of anything else, Annie stood up from her seat.

"Sorry Eri, I need to head back to work." She said.

I got up from my seat as well. "Okay."

With that, Annie and I left the tea shop and stood outside the building. Our destinations were in opposite directions.

"I'm happy we finally got to have our tea date." I said, giving her a warm smile.

She looked at me and faintly curled the corner of her lips. "Yeah. I appreciate this."

I stepped closer towards Annie and hugged her. I could hear her gasp in shock and surprise from this sudden action.

"W-What?" She said in confusion.

I kept hugging her and whispered something only she could hear. "Thank you for being my friend Annie. I really do appreciate our time together."

I could feel her body shake slightly and then she slowly wrapped her arms around me. Her grip was really tight. The hug felt as if she knew this was going to be our final moments as friends. It made me wonder, _Will this friendship even last?_

Annie let go off me and looked at me. She didn't have her cold expression at the moment, it actually looks like a kind and gentle expression. "Thank you Eri." Was all she could say. The only thing I did was to smile back.

"I'll see you tomorrow." I said. Annie didn't respond, only nod her head.

With that, she turned around and started walking away. I did the same and walked the opposite direction, back towards the old Survey Corps Headquarters.


	25. The Real Truth

_Today's the day._

 _Today's the day we will attempt to capture Annie, the suspected Female Titan._

 _Today's the day Commander Erwin is risking our reputation for the operation to be a success._

 _Today's the day where everything will possibly change._

 _Today's the day where I'll most likely lose my best friend._

 _Today's the day Mother's research will have progress hopefully._

 _Today's the day Jean and I can learn the truth about Marco's death._

 _Today's the day I will have to fight my best friend if she resists._

 _Today's the day where I'll learn the real truth._

 _Today's the day Annie Leonhart._

* * *

"Is everyone ready?" Commander Erwin asked as we geared up our maneuver devices and blades.

"Yes!"

Each cadet and Captain saluted towards Commander Erwin as the horse and carriage arrived. As I lowered my right arm away from my chest, I let out a slight frown and sighed.

I could feel a strong hand on my shoulder. I turned to see that it was Jean. "You alright?"

"Yeah." I lied. _No._

I knew Jean saw through my lie but didn't pester me. He gave me a warm smile and took out the dark brown wig Erwin gave him. "Tch. I can't believe I have to wear this stupid thing." He bent over slightly and placed the wig over his hair. After a minute of adjusting, he crossed his arms and let out an annoyed look. "This is stupid."

My frown turned to a smirk and I let out a giggle. I couldn't help it. Eyeing Jean, he stood there as a taller version of Eren. His facial expression matched Eren's and the new dark brown hair made him cute. Jean was scratching his head, trying to get used to the wig and I let out another giggle. "What? Do I look that stupid?"

I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "Nope. I think you look cute."

His face turned pink and he tried to look away, hiding the embarrassment. "Y-You're silly Eri." Were the only words he muttered.

"Oi lover boy." An annoyed Captain Levi called out, interrupting our little moment. "Shut up and get in the carriage."

"L-Lover boy!?" Jean exclaimed as his face grew an even deeper shade. I myself blushed as well but managed to hide it. After fixing his composure, Jean looked back at me and we made eye contact. "Be safe Eri. Don't die on me please."

I could hear the scared tone in his voice. _Can't blame him. There is a slight chance that Annie may actually kill us without any hesitation._ Forcing a reassuring smile, I wrapped my arms around him and laid my head on his chest. "Don't worry. I'll be extra careful."

He wrapped his arms around my waist and I tilted my head up. We both leaned in and gave each other a goodbye kiss. His warm, soft lips helped me forget about everything for that split second. It made me not think about Annie. It made me not think about this whole operation. If only this kiss could last forever.

"I love you Eri." Jean said as he pulled away.

"I love you too Jean." I said, showing a real smile this time. "Now go, or else Captain Levi will get pissed."

We pecked each other's lips once more and Jean ran to the carriage as Levi rolled his eyes. "Stay safe Cadets." Levi said with a nod as he entered the carriage and it rode off towards the Capital.

I held my right hand over my chest and watched as the carriage moved farther and farther away from where I'm standing. _I'll find out the truth Jean. For the both of us._

"Eri, are you ready?" Armin asked as he stood next to me. Behind the two of us was Mikasa and Eren. Looking at Eren's face, he doesn't seem ready. I'm not as well, but this is reality. Although some denials will still come in mind, we have to face it. "Yeah Armin. I'm ready."

I tightened my fists and looked over the horizon with determination. From my peripherals, Armin nodded his head in understanding.

The four of us stood there in silence. We just let the sweet sound of nature erupt our minds for a few brief seconds to calm ourselves.

"Eren, I will make sure nothing happens to you." Mikasa said, breaking the calming silence.

"Tch. Let's just get this over with." Eren said quietly. I could tell he's still feeling a bit uneasy. I know Eren's not close with Annie, but I know that his small friendship with her did leave something special to him.

I took the first step and started walking away from Headquarters as the others followed. "Let's go meetup with Annie at Stohess District." I ordered as we all put on our hoods and headed to the gates.

 _We're coming for you Annie._

* * *

The four of us passed through the gate and entered Stohess District, there, Annie was pacing around as we approached her. I looked at my three friends and they all had a serious look on their faces. I was the only one who put up a friendly face. "Hey Annie."

She nodded her head towards the three and then turned her attention to me. "Hey Eri."

"Thank you for helping us with this Annie. We can't afford to hand Eren over to the Government Officials." Armin said.

Annie stood there and looked at Armin a cold stare. "I still don't get why you want me to help. There are many other people you could've asked."

"That's because you're the only person we can trust. Plus, it'll be a lot easier for Eren to escape if we're with you." Armin said, trying to brush off Annie's suspicious eyes.

Annie didn't say anything. She just kept staring at Armin but then turned around. "Whatever. Let's go."

With that, Armin stepped forward and lead the way along with Mikasa and Eren tailing behind him. Annie and I stayed in the back so that Eren was guarded on both ends.

The five of us walked in silence through the empty streets of Stohess District. I cautiously looked at our surroundings, making sure I wasn't drawing any suspicious attention from Annie since she's walking beside me.

The reason why we're walking through a secluded part of Stohess District is because it's the area of operation to capture Annie without any casualties of innocent citizens. Along with that, Captain Hange and soldiers from the Survey Corps were hiding behind different buildings, tracking us and keeping an eye on the opportunity.

 _Please let this operation end with a success and we don't have to fight._

"So, who's with your Commander towards the Capital?" Annie asked.

I looked at my best friend and answered her question. "Jean. He's posing as Eren."

The corner of her lips curled a bit, almost as if she's amused to hear that. "I see." She looked at me through the corner of her eyes as continued following Armin's lead. "You know, you never told me that you guys became official. Reiner was the one to tell me."

"Eh?" I looked back at her in confusion. "I never told you?" I scratched my head and thought back of all my encounters with her after Jean and I confessed to each other. _She's right. I never told her._ "S-Sorry Annie. I guess I had a lot on my plate that it slipped past my mind." I gave her a nervous grin.

"It's okay. I'm happy for the two of you though." She said, trying to hide the happy tone she was letting out.

I stared at Annie and couldn't help but to smile brightly. _It's nice to have the two of us chat away as best friends. It brings a smile to my face knowing that Annie is still being friendly to me._ "Yeah. I'm happy as well Annie."

"You should've seen Reiner's face when he told me. He was sad." Annie said, still trying to make small talk with me.

I let out a light chuckle. "Why was he sad?"

"Because he likes you." She said. "It was very amusing to see him like that."

Another chuckle escaped my lips. "I see."

Mikasa turned her head, facing towards me. I locked eyes with her and realized that she was glaring at me. I could tell she wanted me to stop making small talk with Annie. With that, I shut my mouth and stayed silent. I'm probably sure Annie noticed it as well and went back to her stoic look.

As we kept walking through Stohess District, I knew the underground passageway was close but I also noticed that Annie was looking around our surroundings suspiciously now. Her cold expression was back and she continued to eye the quiet neighborhood. "Armin." She called out to the blonde boy. "If I didn't come to help, how would you guys help Eren escape? Since I'm the only person you guys trusted."

"Our backup plan probably would've been the use of maneuver devices." Armin answered, not turning around one bit.

"That would've obviously been too risky. Why do this now? Especially at this specific time and date?" Annie asked. She eyed the area once again. I could tell her suspicions were growing more.

"We just thought using Jean as the decoy would be the perfect opportunity for me to escape." Eren said, finally speaking. He was quiet ever since we met up with Annie.

"I guess you've convinced me." Annie said, almost as if she was being sarcastic.

After another moment of silence, Armin raised his arm and pointed at a direction up ahead. "There." The entrance to the underground passageway was in sight and Armin walked faster towards it.

"There?" Annie questioned, looking at the passageway suspiciously.

"Yeah. It'll be a lot easier and beneficial for us to escape since there aren't people down here." Armin answered as we stood in front of the passageway.

I stared at the staircase in front of us and eyed the official underground entrance. I then looked back at Annie and watched as she eyed the dark area ahead.

"Let's go." Mikasa said coldly as she, Eren and Armin started walking down first.

I followed suit and walked down halfway until I noticed Annie wasn't behind me. I stopped and turned around. She was still standing at the ground entrance opening. _Why isn't Annie moving?_

"Annie? You afraid of the dark of something?" Eren asked in a nervous, joking matter, hoping that his friend would snap out of it and take a step down.

Unfortunately, Annie remained standing and didn't look amused. "That's right. I'm afraid Eren." She answered coldly.

I let out a nervous laugh and looked up at my best friend. "W-Why are you afraid Annie? Don't be silly. It's just a passageway." I held my hand out towards her. "Let's go Annie."

Her eyes shifted and locked with mine. She didn't have the friendly face she gave me couple minutes ago. Now, her eyes were cold and unhappy. "Sorry Eri but I refuse to go down there."

"Why?" Eren questioned.

"I'm afraid of going in that direction. I can't help you if we're travelling underground. I'd be more comfortable if we stay above ground to move." She responded.

"Why is that?" Armin asked, glaring towards Annie.

Annie let the corners of her lips curl to a smirk. She then placed one hand over her hip while the other rested on the side. "For a while now, I've noticed that there weren't any people around. It's uncommon for it to be this empty." She then let out a sigh. "Honestly, I'm shocked and hurt. When did you guys start suspecting me? Armin?" She stared at the blonde boy, who continued to glare back at her. "Eri?" My ears rang when she said my name coldly. I've never heard her say my name like that before so it caused my eyes to widen.

I could feel my hands shaking again. Fear started to overwhelm me once again. _She knows. Annie knows of our operations. If she's behaving like this, then it is true. She's the Female Titan._

"Tell me Annie," Armin started speaking in a serious tone. "On the day of the investigation, when our devices were to be observed, why did you submit Marco's?"

I turned to look at Armin, shocked that he asked her this so soon. "Armin..."

"Heh..." I heard a noise escape Annie's mouth. "Let's just say, I found it."

I looked back at my best friend, eyes widened even more. "Found it?" I was confused. "What do you mean 'found it'?"

Annie shifted her gaze back at me and continued to give off her cold stare. "I'm sorry Eri." Was all she could say.

I placed a hand over my chest. "Tell me Annie, Why did you kill Marco?" My heart was beating rapidly, anxiously waiting for her answer.

She was taken aback from my question. "I-It...I...didn't...It wasn't..." Words couldn't form in her mouth. I don't understand what she's trying to say, but seeing how hesitant she's being, it basically confirmed that she's involved with Marco's death.

That broke my heart. _Marco...I'm sorry you died in the hands of my best friend._ I closed my fists and tightened my grip, feeling my nails dig deep into my skin, possibly causing the flesh to bleed. _Please forgive me Marco for not knowing sooner._

"Were you the one that killed off Sonny and Bean?" Armin asked, still semi-interrogating her.

She shifted her gaze left and right, avoiding eye contact now. "Maybe."

I gritted my teeth and tried my best to remain calm. If I burst out in anger, who knows what would happen. Learning a bit of the truth is hurting me deeply. Annie, my best friend, is the culprit. She was no longer the friendly person from all these years, now, her eyes were murderous and extremely cold.

"Enough!" Mikasa shouted as she took off her cape and brought out her sharp blades. She pointed one of her blades towards Annie. "I'm going to slice you up. Female Titan!"

Silence filled the air for what seems like forever. No one made a sound, no one made a single movement. Eren and I had our eyes wide upon hearing Mikasa labeling Annie the 'Female Titan' right in front of her. It wasn't until then that Annie crossed her arms, hugging herself, and let out a creepy yet joyful laugh.

This caused us to stare at Annie in shock even more. _She's laughing? Why is Annie laughing?_

"HAHAHA!" She laughed and laughed. "Eri." She said my name after her laughter was over. "I'm glad I was a good friend to you. I truly am sorry for everything I've done. You must hate me now huh? Ha..Ha..."

I gasped and looked at her. I was speechless. "A-Annie..." I whispered her name and slowly took a step forward. "Please Annie." _Step_. "Don't talk like that." _Another step._ "I know you Annie." _Step._ "You're a different person. You're my friend." _Step._ "Where's the Annie that gave me this hair clip?" I took off my hair clip and held it up to her while taking another step. "Where's the Annie that was there for me when I talked about Jean?" _Step._ "Where's the Annie that comforted me through my difficulties?" _Last step._ "Where's the Annie Leonhart that's my best friend and a good person? Where is she?"

I stood right in front of Annie and wrapped my arms around her. I pulled her in for a hug and I felt her body get stiff. Annie let out a gasp and I could tell she was shocked and speechless.

I started whispering in her ear so it's only the two of us hearing. "Annie. Tell everyone that you're innocent. Tell me that it wasn't you and I'll stop everything. Please." My voice cracked a bit and streams of water fell down my cheeks.

 _Yes. I am willing to throw everything for our friendship._

Annie didn't say anything. I felt her arms wrap around me, hugging me back. I wasn't sure what this hug means but it really felt like this was going to be our final moment together as best friends.

"Thank you Eri." Annie said in a sincere tone.

Suddenly, she put her hands on my shoulders and shoved me back with force. This caused me to stumble down the descending steps and was caught by Eren. After regaining my balance, I glanced up and was met with her cold, murderous eyes once again. Annie then raised her left arm in the air as she spoke, "I am truly happy to have been there for you Eri. Unfortunately, I do have to apologize. My gamble..." She brought her hand close to her mouth. "BEGINS NOW!" Her mouth opened wide and she was about to bite the nerve until Armin shot his flare gun in the air and red smoke was emitted in the sky.

Without any hesitation, soldiers around the area popped out and jumped Annie. They swarmed her and grabbed her arm before she had the chance to bite it. One soldier gagged her mouth while others sat on top of her to prevent any moments. I just stood there, horrified to see this happening to her. "Annie!" I called out as I tried running to her but was stopped by Mikasa.

"No Eri!" She shouted. "It's too late to save her!" With a strong yank, she pulled me back, preventing me from aiding my best friend. I released from Mikasa's grasp and continued to watch Annie get toppled over by Scout Regiment soldiers. "Annie..."

One soldier was pinning her left hand on the ground, making sure that the nerve was untouched. Annie's gagged face turned to look at me as I continued to witness all this in horror. As we made eye contact, I could see something in her eyes sparkle and then noticed something shiny on her left hand. She wears a ring on her pointer finger and I noticed it released a sharp spike. It was until then that I realized she had a backup plan to slice the nerve.

"RUN!" I heard Eren shout as he grabbed my arm and dragged me down the staircase with Mikasa and Armin following behind. Once we made a sharp right into the underground passageway, we heard a loud thunder clap and a slight earthquake beneath us. We all shielded ourselves from the falling pieces of rubble as piles of bodies rolled down the stairs.

 _Annie just transformed into the Female Titan._

* * *

Armin, Mikasa, Eren and I started running down the passageway halls. We don't know where Titan Annie is but we're definitely running for our lives.

"I didn't think her ring would do that!" Armin shouted through short breaths. "Annie knew all along! We need to go through our backup plan!"

"What is our backup plan!?" I asked as we continued to dodge the falling rubble.

"Eren transforms and fight Annie!" Armin yelled towards Eren.

"R-Right!" Eren nodded his head and stopped running.

The rest of us stopped as well and surrounding the boy. We each took a couple steps back to give Eren the space needed to transform. He held his left hand over his mouth and took a big bite on the nerve. Blood spewed out but nothing happened. "What? Why didn't it work?" Eren tried again and again but still no response. Eventually, his thumb was cut deeply and blood continued to spill out from his hand. His mouth was covered and smeared with his blood. "Why isn't it working!?"

Feeling disappointed, Eren continued to bite the nerve while Mikasa and Armin took out their blades. "We're going to have to fight Annie now." Mikasa said coldly as the two of them headed through the exit and above.

"Wait!" Eren yelled out to his two best friends. "What are you guys doing!? You're going to get yourselves killed!"

Mikasa changed her cold expression to a soft one towards Eren. "I'm not going to let her have you. I refuse to. She'll have to kill me if she wants to get to you. Plus, you lost the will to fight." With that, she went back to her cold expression and headed up.

"Eri! Protect Eren!" Armin shouted as he followed after Mikasa.

I stood there and nodded my head. Hearing the commotion above, I knew standing where we are now isn't safe. "Let's keep running Eren!" I grabbed his right hand and we started running.

He didn't protest. I could tell he's in shock on the reality that's happening now. "Eren. I don't know why you can't transform, but Mikasa and Armin are risking their lives right now for you! So you need to fight! Please!" I yelled at him as I gripped his hand harder while still running for our lives.

"I-I can't..." He said quietly. "Because, I still can't accept the fact that it's Annie."

Once I heard that, I stopped running and let go of Eren's hand. I stood there and stared at the ground. _He's right. It's Annie._ I finally let the real truth hit me. _The real truth that Annie was behind all of that. Sonny and Bean. Ruining the 57th Expedition. Marco._

I turned around to stare at the scared and shocked Titan shifter. Putting up the bravest face I could, I spoke to him in a serious matter. "Eren. Please fight. Fight Annie."

"W-What?" He looked at me, surprised to hear this.

"Fight Annie. Please." I repeated myself, staring at him with my serious look. "I lost Annie. Knowing the real truth hurts me the most Eren. But capturing her is our mission and priority right now. We mustn't let our feelings affect our will to fight." I stood close to him and leaned forward so my forehead rested on top of his chest. I felt tears streaming down my face. I made no attempt to wipe them away. "So please Eren. Fight Annie. Stop her. Please." Were the final words I could muster before hearing my voice crack.

"Eri..."

We just stood there as Eren was letting my words sink in. "I'll fight." I lifted my head and took a step back. "I'll fight Eri. For the sake of others."

I wiped off the tears and nodded my head. The both of us had a determined look on our faces as Eren held his left hand in front of his mouth.

Right when Eren's teeth were close to the flesh, the ceiling above us came crashing down. The ground shook violently and I felt something heavy hit my head. The next thing I knew, everything went black.


	26. Imagination

" _Eri?"_

I hear a familiar voice calling my name.

 _"Eri."_

There goes that voice again.

 _"Eri. Wake up."_

That voice was gentle. That voice was soft spoken. That voice was...

* * *

My eyes opened suddenly to a bright, white light. It took me a couple seconds for my eyes to fully adjust.

As majority of the bright light withdrew, I see a tall, shadowy figure standing in front of me.

"Where am I?"

Ignoring the figurine in front of me, I observed my surroundings. Everything was white. No sign of anything. Just white.

It's as if I've suddenly been trapped in a white room and I'm just hovering in the air.

 _"Hi Eri."_

My head turned swiftly as I gazed at the figure in front once again.

A chuckle was heard from this person. A very, very familiar chuckle.

It was impossible to see who that figure was because of the shadow that strangely blocked the view.

"Where am I?" I repeated as my eyes narrowed to get a better look of this person.

 _"Let's just say, this is somewhat of a dream Eri. YOUR dream."_

A hand was held out from the shadow and I grabbed it without any hesitation.

The grip was firm and the touch of this hand felt strangely familiar. Then, my stomach felt like it was turning knots. It was the same exact feeling I had back at Trost.

 _"Have you realized who I am yet Eri?"_ The familiar voice spoke again. It was definitely a male voice. The voice of a certain friend that I miss dearly.

"Marco..." I said his name quietly.

Another chuckle was heard from the figure as he finally step forward away from the shadow. There, I can clearly see his face. His short black hair, tiny freckles spread across his face and his light brown eyes.

My eyes widened in shock at the sight of Marco.

"Marco..." I whispered his name.

 _"Long time no see Eri."_ Marco spoke with a grin. He looked exactly like he was before Jean and I found his body.

Marco still had his silly grin and I couldn't help but to shed a couple tears at the sight of him. "Marco!" I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him to the point where I didn't want to let go. I couldn't help but to sob as well.

 _Is this even real? Why am I seeing Marco now? Have I died and am now in heaven with him?_

 _"Woah. Easy there Eri."_ Marco said as he patted my head.

I finally let go and wiped away the tears. "Did I die Marco?" I asked while looking around my surroundings again. "Is this heaven?"

He let out a hearty laugh. "No Eri. This isn't heaven and you're not dead."

I lifted an eyebrow in confusion at him. "Then where am I? Why am I here?"

"You're somewhat unconscious in the real world Eri." Marco said as he placed his hands on my shoulders. "Do you remember what you were doing before this moment?"

I looked into Marco's light brown eyes and suddenly gasped as a memory flashed to me.

 _We were going to fight Annie. Eren was going to fight Annie._

"Annie!" I shouted my best friends name as I shrugged off Marco and was about to run off to nowhere.

 _"Hold it Eri!"_ Marco yelled as he grabbed my arm to stop me. "You're in a void right now Eri."

I stopped moving and turned to my friend. "A void?" He nodded his head and let go of my arm. " _Yes. A void. To be truthful, you're only able to see me because I'm just a depiction of your imagination Eri."_

A small gasp escaped my lips as I slowly reached out to touch my friend. "I-I'm just imagining you right now? So you're not really real Marco?" He slowly shook his head as a frown formed from his lips. Tears streamed down my face as I tried to wipe them away. "I miss you Marco."

 _"I miss you too Eri. Same goes for Jean and all our other friends."_

"I'm *hic* so sorry *hic* about what happened to you *hic* Marco." I sobbed as more tears streamed down my face and my throat croaked.

 _"There's no need to worry about me Eri. Everything will be alright."_ Marco said, trying to be reassuring.

"No it won't Marco!" I shouted. "Jean and I were devastated when we found your body. We wanted to know what happened. We wanted to know what caused you to end up that way. You died a horrible death Marco!"

His eyes were closed and I could see that he clenched his fists. It seemed as if he was trying to calm himself. _"I know I died horribly Eri. I regret letting my guard down when it all happened."_

I looked up and stared at Marco. The look on his face was very sad. "What..." I started speaking but paused. _Is it possible for my imagination of Marco to actually tell me what happened?_

"What **did** happened to you that day?"

Marco opened his mouth but immediately shut it. He lowered his eyes as I heard him tighten the grip of his fists. He remained silent, not saying a single word.

 _"_ Did Annie kill you Marco?" I asked, trying my best not to sound upset. _I need to know the truth._ "Or, was she somehow involved in your death Marco?"

Again, Marco remained silent. He seemed like he wanted to hide this truth from me. As if he wants to seal his lips.

"Answer me Marco." I said as I made eye contact with him. He tried his best to avoid my gaze but I wasn't letting him. "Was Annie responsible for your death?"

Feeling defeated, Marco let out a long sigh and took a deep breath. " _Yeah. Annie was somehow involved in my demise."_

I placed a hand over my chest and felt the rapid heartbeats. "Why?" Tears streamed down my face again as my voice cracked. "Why did Annie do it? What made her betray you?"

Marco wrapped his arms around me and held me tight as I just sob on his shoulders. "Why would Annie do such a thing Marco? I thought she was my best friend." I cried even more as he stroked my back to calm me down.

 _"All I can say is, she's gotten herself involved into something dangerous Eri."_ Marco let out a heavy sigh as he continued to speak. _"I died because I heard something I wasn't supposed to hear."_

My eyes widened in shock as I backed off of his grip and just stared at him in confusion. "What do you mean by that? What did you hear?"

 _"I can't tell you. It'll get you killed as well."_ Marco said as his body was starting to fade slowly.

"No! Marco! Don't leave yet!" I shouted as I reached out to grab his shoulders. "Don't leave me Marco! I still want to talk to you!"

He gave me one of his kind, gentle smiles and grabbed my hands. _"I'm doing this to protect you and Jean. The two of you have to stay safe no matter what."_

I stared at Marco and looked at him as if I'm really going to lose him forever. "No. No. No. No! Tell me please! I can't move on like this Marco!"

His body was fading even more. He was becoming very transparent. " _Eri. One thing I can say to help you move on is that Annie has been remorseful on what happened to me. She didn't want this to happen to me but it did. You should seek out the other people she's involved with. People that we all know."_

"People we all know?" I questioned, staring at the boy in confusion. "You mean, there are others just like Annie?"

Marco nodded his head. _"Yeah. So be extra careful about who you discuss your research to."_ He gripped my hands tighter as his face continued to fade even more. _"Eri, I'm glad you and Jean found my letter. I meant everything I wrote in_ _there."_ He released his grip and gave me one last hug. _"Don't miss me too much. I'll always be watching the two of you up here."_

"Marco..." I said his name as my voice cracked once again. "Thank you for always being my friend."

His lips formed to a hearty smile as my imagination of him completely faded away and I was holding nothing.

 _Marco was gone once again._

I stood alone and sobbed for what felt like eternity.

 _Now I at least have a bit of closure about Marco._

As I continue to stand in this void, I looked at my surroundings for a way out. Suddenly, the light shined even brighter and I could hear voices from my reality.

* * *

"Eren! Eri! Open your eyes! Wake up!" Shouted a voice whom my brain registers it as Armin.

As consciousness was slowly coming back to me, I could feel my muscles twitch slightly. I could also feel piles of heavy rubble on top of me.

"Eri!" Cried a voice that I've been longing to hear.

My eyes shot open wide as my blurred vision made eye contact with a certain two-toned haired person. If my body could, I would let out a sigh of relief at the sight of Jean. "Jean...you came to me..."

"Thank goodness you're alive Eri!" Jean shouted as he frantically moved the piles of rubble away from me.

I slowly moved my head around to get a better look of my surrounding.

I remember being underground with Eren, encouraging the guy to fight Annie. Now, I seemed to be underneath a pile of rubber and I can see what's happening outside.

"Eren! Answer me Eren!" Armin shouted from a short distance away.

I turned my head to see Armin removing piles of rubble as well to reveal an unconscious Eren impaled by a wooden pole. "Eren!"

Just then, I felt the last piece of rubble off of me and I was carefully lifted up by Jean. Once I felt no sign of any broken ribs or bones, Jean immediately hugged me. "Thank goodness you're alive." Jean said again as he squeezed me even tighter.

I couldn't help but to shed a few tears and hug him back. I was extremely happy to be in Jean's arms now. "I had a dream about Marco."

Jean let go of me and looked at me wide eyed. "What?"

"I had a dream about Marco. It was like he was explaining to me about what happened to me." I said, tearing up again. Jean leaned forward and wrapped his arms around me as I could hear him let out a quiet sob. "Jean..."

He cupped a hand on my cheek and wiped the tears away with his thumb. "I'm glad you're not hurt Eri." I couldn't say anything and only nodded my head. Jean leaned forward again but this time, pressed his lips against mine.

Our moment was interrupted when a soft cry was heard from a far distance. There, we see the Female Titan, also known as Annie Leonhart, fighting off Mikasa and the support squad. Jean let go off me and stood up. He whipped out his blades and glared towards the Female Titan. "She's going to pay for what she did!"

"Jean! No!" I tried reaching my arm out to stop him but Jean already took off with his mobility gear and fought alongside Mikasa.

I sat there and watched in horror as Annie used her intelligence and killed off some of the support squad members.

 _It breaks my heart to see Annie in this situation. I wish there is something I can do._

"Eri! Eren won't wake up!" Armin shouted, catching my attention.

I stood up and steady myself before running towards Armin. I helped him remove more rubble off Eren but the wooden pole was still impaled through Eren's chest.

"He's still trapped Eri." Armin said in a slightly panicked tone. "Why didn't he become a titan?"

I blinked rapidly and stared at the bloodied boy whose still trapped beneath the pile. "It's because of Annie. He really lost the will to fight but I tried to encourage him. Eren was about to transform but we ended up how you found us."

Armin clenched his teeth and removed more pieces of rubble and rocks. "Eren! Please wake up! You have to fight! EREN!"

I continued to sit there and stare as Eren remained the way he was. He wasn't responding. "Eren." Armin and I moved a huge piece of rubble out of the way and I sat closer to Eren's body. "Eren. Please wake up. Remember what I said? We mustn't let our feelings get in the way of fighting. You have to fight Annie." I took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "I had a dream about Marco. You remember him right?" I gripped my fists tightly as I felt my hands shaking. "Marco died because he had full trust in you Eren! He also died because he got involved in something he shouldn't have! So please! Please fight for Marco's sake as well! GET UP AND FIGHT ANNIE!"

With that, I stood up and ran past Armin. I took out my blades and headed straight towards the Female Titan, completely ignoring Armin calling my name.

My mobility gear reeled me towards Annie as I witness her killing off more squad members. She grabbed onto one of their gear line and threw him across the building, heading towards me. I immediately dodged the body as it had a hard impact on the ground, thus killing him instantly. I stopped right in front of Annie and stared at the Titan.

"Annie!" I called out to her. She stopped her movement and looked down at me. "I don't know what's going on with you, but I have no choice but to fight you." I gripped onto the hilt of my blades and pushed the button. My gear maneuvered me around her ankles and I sliced off parts of the tendon to slow her down. Annie tried grabbing me with her arms but her movement was too slow at the speed I was going at.

This gave Jean an opportunity to attempt slicing the nape of her neck but her blocked it and Jean's blades broke instead. She tried to grab Jean but I quickly slashed off her fingers before she was able to.

"Tch! She's stubborn as hell!" Jean shouted, glaring at the Female Titan.

I didn't make any comments and just stared at Annie as smoke emitted from her fingers, regeneration slowly coming.

"Eri! Jean! Follow me!" Armin shouted as he flew past us with his gear. Jean and I looked at each other then nod our heads. We immediately followed Armin along with Annie following the three of us.

"What about Eren!?" I shouted towards Armin.

"It's up to him to decided if he's willing to fight or not! I already said my part so now it's all him!" Armin replied.

"The plan was for him to become a titan and fight! How come he's not willing to do so!?" Jean complained, obviously really annoyed at this.

"It's complicated Jean." I said, looking at him in understanding.

As the three of us flew through a couple more buildings, we finally came across an area where Captain Hange and her entire squad hid with their trap. Commander Erwin briefly explained an ambush on the Female Titan if Eren were to fail on his transformation. Of course, he explained this part of the plan secretly, without Eren knowing.

Once we ran past the building Hange was hiding in, she set off her trap and thousands of arrows and tight ropes exploded from a cannon and stopped all movement from the Female Titan. Annie tried one final move by attempting to grab one of us but failed to do so. This caused her to lose her balance and she fell to the ground. Some of Captain Hanges' squad members dropped down a gigantic spike tarp over the Female Titan's body to prevent more movements from being made.

After what felt like a long minute, the Female Titan was officially trapped. Annie has been pinned to the ground without any ability to move or escape. _We did it. We finally captured her._

"Okay! Plan C worked out as planned by none other than Commander Erwin!" Hange said in excitement.

"Nice work Captain Hange." I said as I stood next to her on a rooftop.

Hange twirled an extra rope around as she grinned towards me. "Let's go Eri." She dropped down and walked towards the Female Titans' face as I followed along. I see Armin, Jean and Mikasa standing by with caution.

I hopped on top of the Female Titan's right cheek and stood at a spot where Annie can see me with her right eye. "Annie." I spoke up, staring at my former best friend. "I know you can clearly hear me. It doesn't have to be like this you know. You can always come out of that body and we can discuss things like normal human beings. You must think I'm mad or despise you but I don't. I don't know what or why you're involved in something dangerous, but I really want to talk to you Annie. I want to see my best friend and talk to her. I just want my friend back. Please?"

I placed my hand on her cheek and felt the hot temperature from the titan. Soon, Captain Hange walked towards Annie's right eye and held her blade an inch away from it. "Well, well, well, it'd be impossible for you to escape just like how you did back at that forest. You're nowhere near titan territory." Looking at Captain Hange's face, she was making her terrifying titan obsessed expression. "If anything, I'll be the one to devour you. I want to eat up all the information you have about your titan abilities. Now be a good girl and let me slice that neck of yours."

The Female Titans' right eye widened as her leg quickly sweep the ground, destroy majority of the cannons that held the trap. This caused Annie to shake herself free which made me lose my balance since I was standing on her face. "Woah!" I slid off of Annie's face and pressed the button to bring myself to safety but the gear malfunctioned. I was heading straight towards the ground!

"Eri!" I heard Captain Hange scream my name as she made her way towards me since she was the closest. "Captain Hange!" I called out to her as I reached my arm out for her to grab. Just as Hange was about to grab me, I saw a gigantic hand hover over me and closed the space around me.

"W-What the?"

I was now sitting on the palm of the Female Titan. Her hand closed tightly around me. Her fingers became a barrier, preventing me from leaving. There was total darkness around me. As I tried to open up what I believe are her fingers, a sudden realization came to me...

 _Did Annie just kidnap me?_

* * *

 **~Author's Note~**

 **Deeply sorry for the long wait! I was technically on writers block and I was somewhat getting more involved with work and church so I barely had the time to sit on my computer this past month. Just letting ya'll know that this story will be coming to an end really soon (probably at least 2 more chapters or so).**

 **Thank you all for your patience and happy reading!**


	27. The Female Titan

Every step Annie takes felt like a giant earthquake around me as my body kept jumping around. With the best I can to maintain my balance, I was constantly banging my hands on Annie's hardened fingers to free myself.

"Annie!" I shouted her name on the top of my lungs. "Where are you taking me!? Let me out!"

It was obvious that I wasn't going to get a response from her. She just kept running, or at least that's most likely what she's doing. I could distinctly hear shouting coming from outside. Some screamed Annie's name while others shouted mine. Her fingers suddenly tightened it's grip as I felt her speed picking up.

Eventually, she slowed down her pace and made a sudden stop. I lightly placed a hand on one of her hardened fingers and watched as she slowly opened her hand. With the light blinding me for a brief second after being in the dark, I was brought face to face with The Female Titan's right eye. Annie was just staring at me with her bright blue eye.

"Annie..." I said her name quietly, gawking at the sight of her titan form. Although the figure before me is quite horrifying to see, I couldn't help but to be awed by her beautiful blue eye.

The Female Titan tilted her head back, looking up at the sky. I looked up as well and just stared at the blue sky. _What is she thinking right now?_

"E...ri." She struggled to say my name in her form.

"Eh?" I looked back towards Annie to be greeted by her cold stare once again. "W-What is it?"

She was silent and just kept staring. It seemed as if she wanted to say something but is resisting. "Ho..me..." She pointed towards Wall Sina, seemingly determined to get over that wall.

"What do you mean by 'home' Annie?" I asked her. "I don't really understand what you're talking about."

"Eri!" Armin's voice could be hear from a distance.

Annie and I turned our heads to see Armin, Mikasa, Jean and other soldiers maneuvering their way towards us at a fast speed. I wanted to shout towards them but hesitated. _I'm not sure if Annie will get upset if I shout to them. But I need to let them know that I'm alright._

"Guys! I'm alri-"

Annie closed her hand and darkness emitted around me once again before I could finish speaking. She then started running at top speed since we're being followed by everyone else. I started banging on her fingers, trying to talk some sense into her. "Annie! Where exactly are we going!? What do you mean by home!?"

As usual, I was not getting any response from her. She just continued running. "Argh!" Feeling frustrated, I whipped out my blade and contemplated on cutting her fingers to free myself but then she hardened the surrounding area in her fingers to prevent me from doing so.

 _I don't understand what Annie's motive is right now. What is she trying to do? Where are we going? What is 'home' to her?_

"Rrraaaaaoooooooorrrrrrr!"

I held my hands to my ears from the sudden loud battle cry. It was a very familiar sound too. It was a battle cry from a specific titan I heard back at Trost District. That is Eren, or should I say Eren's titan form.

"MmmRooooaaaarrrrrr!"

His loud cry sounded like he was very close to wherever we are. I could feel Annie spinning around and used the ball of her feet as her brakes. She returned Eren's battle cry with hers.

Just then, I heard loud, angry footsteps heading towards us and Annie tightened her grip around me once again. I subconsciously hunched over and wrapped my arms around my legs, curling myself into a defensive position. I was basically bracing myself for any impact that might occur.

Within a couple of seconds, I felt some sort of force somewhere near Annie and we started flying a few hundred feet away. My body kept bouncing around inside Annie's hand as she kept gripping onto to me, probably preventing me from any harm.

Judging from the sound outside, it seemed that Eren's titan form had come into contact with Annie which caused the two of us to fly back. As the Female Titan got back up, she slowly opened her hand once again. I could see buildings being destroyed and the ground showing some hardcore skid marks. Within the distance, Eren is seen walking towards us at a slow pace. Behind Eren are my friends heading towards our direction as well.

I looked up towards the Female Titan as she looked at me from the corner of her eye. Smoke was emitting from her jaw which shown that she was punched there from Eren. "Annie, what are we doing?"

She kept staring at me and never said a word or showed a sign of movement. I turned back towards Eren's direction and noticed that he and all my friends were fairly close to us. I could distinctly hear Armin shouting towards Eren.

"Eren! Annie has Eri with her! Rescue Eri!"

Titan Eren focused his attention towards us and located me standing on top of Annie's hand. He then let out another loud battle cry and made a run for it. This time, he raised his fist and prepared for another strike towards her.

"Watch out Annie!" I shouted towards her.

Before she even had the chance to close her fist, Eren made contact on Annie and we were sent flying once again. This time, since I didn't have Annie's hand as a barrier, I was sent flying to the ground.

"AAAAHHHHH!"

Annie was already on the ground with Eren standing over her. It felt like my free fall was moving slowly as the sight of the hard cemented ground came closer and closer to me. Just as I was about to crash and break my body, Annie immediately swooped her arm towards my direction and I fell right on top of her palm to cushion my fall. I looked up and smiled lightly towards her, thanking my best friend for saving me. The titan then smiled back slightly and wrapped her fingers around my body.

She was slowly bringing me towards her face as I watched her mouth open in front of me. _Wait, what is Annie doing? Is she going to eat me!?_

"A-Annie! What are you doing!? Stop!"

My screams didn't faze her. As she brought me close to her mouth, she dropped me on top of her tongue. My hands touched the saliva as I looked at them in disgust. _Gross. This is really, really gross._

I looked up to see that Annie's mouth was still wide open, the sight of Eren right in front of me as he stared back. _This is my chance to escape!_ With my mobility gear, I pushed the button and the hooks were just about to reach outside but was immediately disrupted with Annie's mouth shutting, blocking off my way out. My eyes widened in shock at the sudden action.

 _Annie really just ate me._

* * *

Movement can be felt inside the mouth as with my assumption, I'm pretty sure she's on the run again. This time, I'm positive she's heading closer towards Wall Sina. Annie did mention about 'home' in which I have absolutely no clue what she means by that. _Is it possible that she is really trying to take the two of us to where her home might possibly be? If that's the case, where exactly is her home? Why is her home so important to her?_

Being unable to see what's outside and stuck inside a titan's mouth, I turned around and stared down her throat. There, I can see the spot where Annie resides as she's controlling the Female Titan's body, _the nape of the neck._

"I have to cut her out of that." I whispered to myself. "Is it even possible to do so? Her skin is tough to cut."

Gripping onto the hilt of my blades, I pressed the button and released the anchor hook. It grabbed onto the back of the Female Titan's throat and I slowly lowered myself, ensuring that I don't get swallowed in the process. As soon as I reached to where I suspect the nape of her neck is, I touched the wet, saliva surface and pointed my blade at the designated spot. "Here I come Annie."

I raised my arm back and stabbed as hard as I could. "Grraaahhh!" The moment my blade came into contact with Annie's body, it immediately broke in half and a cold, crystallized substance blocked off the area. _Oh crap! Annie knew!?_

Letting out a loud gasp, more of the crystallized substance emitted around the neck and I quickly made my way back to her mouth. I grabbed onto her tongue, ignoring the disgusting saliva feeling all over my hands, and pulled myself up. I laid my back on her tongue and took in deep breaths. _Annie knew I was going to cut her out. Should've known my best friend would outsmart me._

"Annie!" I shouted her name, still lying on top of the tongue. "LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

Of course I didn't get a response. All I felt were earthquake feelings each step she takes. I slowly walked up to the enamels of her teeth and looked through the small holes of her gritted teeth.

Suddenly, I could feel Annie coming to a halt which caused me to tumble and fall on her tongue. More of her saliva covered me which grossed me out even more. Then, I could feel Annie spinning around. Her mouth opened wide in which I could see what's outside. We are currently in an open field within Stohess District, there, I could see Titan Eren standing a few hundred feet away from us. My eyes widened at the sight of Eren. I could see anger, hatred and betrayal behind those gigantic eyes.

 _Eren Jaeger._

"Eren!" I shouted his name. He let out a battle cry after hearing me. I couldn't help but to let out a small smile. _Somehow Eren is able to control his titan form. Very interesting. He's even capable of understanding the things he hear!_ "I'm here Eren!" His eyes wandered and locked onto me inside Annie's mouth. I was only able to keep eye contact with Eren for a few short seconds until Annie suddenly closed her mouth, hiding me from the outside environment once again.

Just then, Eren let out his battle cry once more and I could hear/feel the two fighting. I don't know what's happening but I could tell that Annie was being lifted and tossed in the air due to the fact that I myself am flying around inside Annie's mouth! I did the best I can to grip onto the side of her gum to ensure I wouldn't fall.

As soon as I thought the close was clear, I felt a strong impact his Annie's cheek, the side where I was standing, and I was sent flying across the other side of Annie's cheek. "Gaah!" Annie's gum started to crystallize inside which prevented me from any harm and I fell to my knees. Her mouth suddenly opened once more because she was screaming while throwing some hard punches. Each time she opened her mouth, I could see Titan Eren's face being smashed. "Eren!"

I tried to stand up but immediately fell back down. "W-What the!?" I looked over to my legs and noticed that the saliva inside Annie's mouth was starting to harden. Pretty soon, the substance started covering my entire body and I could feel myself panicking.

"Annie!" I screamed her name in a state of panic. "What's going on Annie!? W-What are you doing to me!?"

I attempted to wriggle myself out of this saliva substance that's been preventing me from moving but there was no luck. I was trapped and tied up in Annie's mouth. Eventually, The Female Titan and Titan Eren started fighting once more but this time, we crashed on the ground. Or so I think we did because I kept bouncing around.

Somehow, I could tell Annie's face has been grabbed and crushed slightly because blood started splattering inside. The Female titan's mouth opened up again from Annie shouting in pain. Being able to see outside again, I caught sight of my friends and other military members standing at a distance, watching the fight. I could even see Jean and Armin standing next to Captain Hange.

Heat started emitting around Annie as I now realized that it was Eren's hand that was prying her mouth open. More of Annie's screams kept being shouted, every second getting louder and my ears were about to reach it's limit to the quality of the sound.

I felt useless not being able to move because this would've been my perfect opportunity to use the maneuver device and escape! Annie's mouth was pried open as far as Eren could to the point that he broke her mouth and Annie shouted in pain. Her body rolled over with her mouth still hanging wide open and my body easily slipped out. The saliva barrier around me suddenly broke off and I ended rolling around on the hard ground.

"Ahh!" I laid there with my eyes closed, afraid of opening them. "Is it over?" I whispered to myself as I slowly opened my eyes. Annie and Eren were fairly close to me. Both titans looked like they were in bad shape. I could see Annie frantically looking around for me. _She must've realized I slipped out and escaped from her._

Annie then kicked Eren away and ran for the Wall. She suddenly started climbing her way to the top! _Where is Annie going!?_

"Annie stop!" I shouted out loud. My body ached from all of this and I tried my best to stand up. I was then joined by Jean who appeared by my side.

"Eri!" He pulled me into a hug but it wasn't just a regular hug, it was a bear hug. The same bear hug back at Trost. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

"Jean..." I don't know why, but tears started to form and streamed down my face.

 _I didn't realize that though I had a brave face on the entire time, I was actually scared to death. I was scared at what Annie was doing to me. I was scared to even be in close proximity with both titans. I was scared that I would die right then and there._

"I'm alright Jean." Jean let go off me and squeezed my hands. "I'm glad to know you're okay."

Our moment was soon interrupted with both titan's screaming. I looked over to Annie and she was still in the middle of climbing. Before Annie could reach to the top, I could briefly see Mikasa slicing her fingers off which caused Annie to fall to the ground. She was then tackled by Eren and the guy was non stop punching Annie's face and even kicked her head off. Her body laid there lifeless as Eren kept punching away.

It was a horrible sight for me to see. I'm witnessing my best friend getting beaten to death, even though she's a titan. I took a step forward and tried to intervene but Jean had a strong grip on my arm to prevent me from moving. "No. Don't." He said firmly.

I didn't bother to argue with him. I just listened and stayed put. We continued to watch Eren punch the Female titan until his face reached close to the nape of her neck.

"No! Eren's going to eat her!"

His mouth opened wide and was ready to take a bite of her neck. _I need to save Annie! I can't let Annie die there!_

"Annie!"

I freed myself from Jean's grasp and ran as fast as I could, ignoring the yelling and protesting I could hear from behind. _I don't care right now. All I want is Annie's safety. I don't want her to die! I CAN'T let her die!_

"STOP EREN!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. My pace quickened as I was close to where the two titans were.

Eren's mouth reached the nape of Annie's neck and he ripped a piece of her flesh with his teeth. My eyes widened and I immediately stopped running. My knees felt weak and I tripped over my own feet.

 _Annie...no..._

It felt like time had stopped.

"Annie?" I whispered her name as I see a figure from the nape of the Female Titan's neck.

Suddenly, a bright light shined from the neck, blinding everyone and I shielded my eyes from the sensitivity. I could vaguely hear a strange noise coming from Eren and Annie's direction. I moved my hand slightly to see what was going on, ignoring the bright light. There, I see some sort of hardened, crystal substance forming around Annie's body.

When everything was over, we were left with the two titans decomposing and a crystallized Annie Leonhart.

* * *

 **Author's note**

Hi Everyone!

My deepest apologies for a SUPER LATE chapter post. I'm not even sure if this chapter is good TBH...

I know people kept asking for an update on the chapter but you know how life is lol. I started Graduate School, studying Mental Health Counseling so it is definitely consuming my time along with working full-time. I basically don't have any time to myself and on these rare occasions I finish my assignments early and managed to find time to type up as much of the chapter as I could (as you can see).

Soo...here's an update on where this story is going.

 **THERE ARE ABOUT 2-3 (depending how I write it out) LEFT FOR THIS STORY!**

Nonetheless, there is going to be a sequel to this. This story follows the season 1 anime installment and I have decided to write a sequel, following season 2 and the manga. So please do not be disappointed if the ending is going to be a bit too blunt but I do hope you're looking forward to the sequel. I have written up my brainstorming and ideas on my phone and can't wait to start writing it.

Anyways, I honestly do hope you guys enjoy reading this. I low-key think that this story is going on a terrible path and I would give up on it haha. Please let me know what ya'll think of it so far and I can see how far I can go with this.

~RiN


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